By Dave Thompson
Bismarck, ND – The state Capitol in Bismarck is a smoke-free building.
So, Capitol workers who smoke go outside. Many of them hang around the entrances.
But -- if a Grafton lawmaker has her way, that would also be prohibited. Rep. Joyce Kingsbury (R-Grafton) has introduced a bill to ban smoking on the Capitol grounds.
"People would stand outside the door, even on the south side, which has an overhang, and smoke in there," said Kingsbury. "When you come in the morning, there would be cigarette butts in the sidewalk cracks. It seems really disrespectful to me."
Kingsbury says she would create exemptions for the parking lots -- and the "butt hut," an enclosed area for smokers just outside the Capitol's Judicial wing.