2006 Code of Virginia § 15.2-2801 - Statewide regulation of smoking

15.2-2801. Statewide regulation of smoking.

A. The Commonwealth or any agency thereof and every locality shall providereasonable no-smoking areas, considering the nature of the use and the sizeof the building, in any building owned or leased by the Commonwealth or anyagency thereof or a locality. The provisions of this chapter shall not applyto office, work or other areas of the Department of Corrections which are notentered by the general public in the normal course of business or use of thepremises.

B. Smoking shall be prohibited in (i) elevators, regardless of capacity,except in any open material hoist elevator, not intended for use by thepublic; (ii) public school buses; (iii) the interior of any publicelementary, intermediate, and secondary school; (iv) hospital emergencyrooms; (v) local or district health departments; (vi) polling rooms; (vii)indoor service lines and cashier lines; (viii) public restrooms in anybuilding owned or leased by the Commonwealth or any agency thereof; (ix) theinterior of a child day center licensed pursuant to 63.2-1701 that is notalso used for residential purposes; however, this prohibition shall not applyto any area of a building not utilized by a child day center, unlessotherwise prohibited by this chapter; and (x) public restrooms of health carefacilities.

C. Any restaurant having a seating capacity of fifty or more persons shallhave a designated no-smoking area sufficient to meet customer demand. Indetermining the extent of the no-smoking area, the following shall not beincluded as seating capacity: (i) seats in any bar or lounge area of arestaurant and (ii) seats in any separate room or section of a restaurantwhich is used exclusively for private functions.

D. The proprietor or other person in charge of an educational facility,except any public elementary, intermediate, or secondary school, health carefacility, or a retail establishment of 15,000 square feet or more serving thegeneral public, including, but not limited to, department stores, grocerystores, drug stores, clothing stores, shoe stores, and recreationalfacilities shall designate reasonable no-smoking areas, considering thenature of the use and the size of the building.

E. The proprietor or other person in charge of a space subject to theprovisions of this chapter shall post signs conspicuous to public viewstating "Smoking Permitted" or "No Smoking," and in restaurants, signsconspicuous to ordinary public view at or near each public entrance stating"No-Smoking Section Available." Any person failing to post such signs maybe subject to a civil penalty of not more than twenty-five dollars.

F. No person shall smoke in a designated no-smoking area and any person whocontinues to smoke in such area after having been asked to refrain fromsmoking may be subject to a civil penalty of not more than twenty-fivedollars.

G. Any law-enforcement officer may issue a summons regarding a violation ofthis chapter.

H. The provisions of this chapter shall not be construed to regulate smokingin retail tobacco stores, tobacco warehouses or tobacco manufacturingfacilities.

(1990, cc. 902, 969, 15.1-291.2; 1991, c. 601; 1992, c. 827; 1994, cc. 629,928; 1996, cc. 472, 514, 778; 1997, c. 587; 2002, c. 283.)