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Utah Code Title 26B. Utah Health and Human Services Codes § 26B-7-503. Utah Indoor Clean Air Act--Restriction on smoking in public places and in specified places--Exceptions--Enforcement--Penalties--Local ordinances

Current as of January 01, 2025 | Updated by Findlaw Staff

(1) Except as provided in Subsections (2) and (3), smoking is prohibited in all enclosed indoor places of public access and publicly owned buildings and offices.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to:

(a) areas not commonly open to the public of owner-operated businesses having no employees other than the owner-operator;

(b) guest rooms in hotels, motels, “bed and breakfast” lodging facilities, and other similar lodging facilities, but smoking is prohibited under Subsection (1) in the common areas of these facilities, including dining areas and lobby areas; and

(c) separate enclosed smoking areas:

(i) located in the passenger terminals of an international airport located in the city of the first class;

(ii) vented directly to the outdoors; and

(iii) certified, by a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning engineer licensed by the state, to prevent the drift of any smoke to any nonsmoking area of the terminal.

(3)(a) A person is exempt from the restrictions of Subsection (1) if the person:

(i) is a member of an American Indian tribe whose members are recognized as eligible for the special programs and services provided by the United States to American Indians who are members of those tribes;

(ii) is an American Indian who actively practices an American Indian religion, the origin and interpretation of which is from a traditional American Indian culture;

(iii) is smoking tobacco using the traditional pipe of an American Indian tribal religious ceremony, of which tribe the person is a member, and is smoking the pipe as part of that ceremony; and

(iv) the ceremony is conducted by a pipe carrier, Indian spiritual person, or medicine person recognized by the tribe of which the person is a member and the Indian community.

(b) This Subsection (3) takes precedence over Subsection (1).

(c) A religious ceremony using a traditional pipe under this section is subject to any applicable state or local law, except as provided in this section.

(4)(a) An owner or the agent or employee of the owner of a place where smoking is prohibited under Subsection (1) who observes a person smoking in apparent violation of this section shall request the person to stop smoking.

(b) If the person fails to comply, the proprietor or the agent or employee of the proprietor shall ask the person to leave the premises.

(5)(a) A first violation of Subsection (1) is subject to a civil penalty of not more than $100.

(b) Any second or subsequent violation of Subsection (1) is subject to a civil penalty of not less than $100 and not more than $500.

(6)(a) The department and local health departments shall:

(i) enforce this section and shall coordinate their efforts to promote the most effective enforcement of this section; and

(ii) impose the penalties under Subsection (5) in accordance with this Subsection (6).

(b) When enforcing this section, the department and the local health departments shall notify persons of alleged violations of this part, conduct hearings, and impose penalties in accordance with Title 63G, Chapter 4, Administrative Procedures Act.

(c) The department shall adopt rules necessary and reasonable to implement the provisions of this section.

(7) Civil penalties collected under this section by:

(a) a local health department shall be paid to the treasurer of the county in which the violation was committed; and

(b) the department shall be deposited into the General Fund.

(8)(a) This section supersedes any ordinance enacted by the governing body of a political subdivision that restricts smoking in a place of public access as defined in Section 26B-7-501 and that is not essentially identical to the provisions of this section.

(b) This Subsection (8) does not supersede an ordinance enacted by the governing body of a political subdivision that restricts smoking in outdoor places of public access which are owned or operated by:

(i) a political subdivision as defined in Section 17B-1-102;

(ii) a state institution of higher education; or

(iii) a state institution of public education.

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Cite this article: FindLaw.com - Utah Code Title 26B. Utah Health and Human Services Codes § 26B-7-503. Utah Indoor Clean Air Act--Restriction on smoking in public places and in specified places--Exceptions--Enforcement--Penalties--Local ordinances - last updated January 01, 2025 | https://codes.findlaw.com/ut/title-26b-utah-health-and-human-services-codes/ut-code-sect-26b-7-503/

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