Future hazy for smoke-free workplace bill

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Alaska is among a handful of states in the West that doesn’t mandate smoke-free workplaces statewide, and one powerful lawmaker is standing in the way of that changing.

State Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux chairs the House Rules Committee and decides which bills make it to the floor. She has balked at moving the bill, which overwhelmingly passed the Senate last year and enjoys widespread support in the House – half the body’s 40 members have signed as co-sponsors.

But LeDoux told a news conference last month that the state should not be “cramming down the throats” of municipalitie...