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MINNESOTA CLEAN INDOOR AIR ACT RULES AND ENFORCEMENT REGARDING WORKPLACES, RESTAURANTS, AND BARS In 1975, the Minnesota Clean Indoor Air Act (MCIAA) was �dS��k�� This landmark legislation was passed to protect the public's health by restricting smoking in public places and workplaces. In 1975, secondhand smoke was thought of as more of an annoyance than a health risk. Today there are hundreds of studies and reports documenting the harmful health effects of secondhand smoke. Since 1975, some of the MCIAA rules have been amended. The latest revision was in 2002, and includes new requirements for offices, factories, warehouses, and similar workplaces. The new rules no longer allow employees to smoke at workstations although smoking is allowed in some areas (e.g., private enclosed office occupied by one person with door closed and strict ventilation requirements).36 Increasingly, more office buildings and other workplaces are voluntarily going smoke-free. The MCIAA does not allow smoking at all in public schools (K-12), day cares, or health care facilities. No significant changes have occurred with the MCIAA regarding restaurants and bars. The basic requirements are: • Restaurants must designate at least 30 percent of the total seating capacity as nonsmoking • Bars must follow restaurant seating requirements unless the bar has a limited food license and seating capacity for 50 people or fewer. If so, the whole bar may be designated as smoking permitted. Nonsmoking and smoking-permittedseating must be separated by one of the following: - A four-foot-wide space; ' A physical barrier 56 inches or more in height, or ` Outdoor (fresh) air ventilation of not less than 15 cubic feet per minute per person (this is not the same as new ventilation requirements for offices, factories, warehouses, or similar ��cpla�e s�, �. In Bloomington, staff from the Environmental Health Division enforce the MCIAA rules. Environmental Health staff check to see if local bars and restaurants are in compliance with the MCIAA when they do their food safety inspections, which are done four times a year. Enforcement of the MCIAA in other workplaces (offices, warehouses, and similar workplaces) is "complaint based," meaning that if a complaint comes to the Minnesota Department of Health or to the Bloomington Environmental Health Division, staff will go out and assess the situation and help them come into compliance. Warnings are given if there is a violation with corrections noted. If a workplace does not make corrections in a timely manner, an administrative penalty order (i.e., fine) may be given, although this rarely happens in Minnesota and never has happened in Bloomington. ��