A smoking ban in most North Dakota public buildings should stay in place for bingo halls even though their business plummeted after the ban took effect almost two years ago, the state House has decided.

Reps. Dwight Wrangham, R-Bismarck, and Randy Boehning, R-Fargo, sponsored a bill to allow smoking in a bingo parlor that agreed to exclude anyone younger than 18. At present, youngsters are allowed in bingo halls.

North Dakota's bingo halls are run by charities. They reported a sharp drop in business statewide after a smoking ban in most public buildings took effect Aug. 1, 2005. The Bingo Barn in Williston, in business for 20 years, closed last December.

"We were told in the last session that smoking, if we ban it, it's not going to hurt business," Boehning said during House debate Friday. "But this is a good example of what we did. We banned smoking in a lot of places, and it did hurt business."

Representatives voted 47-42 on Friday to defeat the legislation. Rep. Kari Conrad, D-Minot, said she heard comments from nonsmoking bingo players who had shunned the parlors before puffing was banned.

"I think it's taken us time to adjust, but I think we should stick to our guns and say no," Conrad said. "Secondhand smoke is a very, very big issue, and if this is one way to help people to stop smoking, I think we should do that."

Rep. Elwood Thorpe, D-Minot, noted that supporters of the bill had played up its positive effect on North Dakota's treasury.

The bill is HB1353.

- Associated Press