A bill that would ban smoking at state beaches and parks in California is advancing through the state’s Senate.

A.B. 725 passed the Senate Appropriations Committee 12-5 last week, the second committee it has passed since being introduced in February.

The bill would not ban smoking in all parks and beaches in the state, just those owned by or under the jurisdiction of the state of California. Beaches and parks owned and operated by local counties or cities, as well as private parks and beaches would not be subject to the proposed law.

Violators could be fined up to $250 for each infraction.

The ban does have an exemption for those filming under permit from the California Film Commission. They would be allowed to smoke, so long as the film set is closed to the public and “waste is immediately removed from the beach or park.”

If passed, California would join Hawaii and Oregon as states with statewide park smoking bans. Similar efforts have been passed by the New Jersey legislature, but vetoed by Gov. Chris Christie.

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Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.