Nebraska Governor Signs Cigar Bar Bill Into Law

Smoking is now legal in cigar bars in Nebraska.

Earlier today, Gov. Pete Ricketts signed into law L.B. 118, a bill that makes smoking in cigar bars to once again be legal again. The bill passed the state legislature 45-3 last Friday, Ricketts had five days to veto the law or it would go into effect.

Because of an emergency provision in the bill, it takes effect immediately. This means that smoking is now legal in the 10 cigar bars in the state, although many cigar bars had allegedly ignored the previous law that banned smoking.

Smoking in Nebraska’s cigar bars became illegal in January after the Nebraska Supreme Court ruled that a provision put into the 2008 Nebraska Clear Air Act was illegal. The provision was put into the Clean Air Act to allow smoking in tobacco-related business, but a bar owner sued, claiming that it was illegal because it was a “special favor,” something that had been outlawed in Nebraska.