Since State Rep. Joe McCord clearly declined opportunity to comment to WSMV before, during, and after the airing of our story, I thought I’d reprint this AP story, which contains his response.
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State Rep. Joe McCord acknowledges smoking in his office
Eds: UPDATES with details, reax.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — State Rep. Joe McCord acknowledged that
he and others have smoked in his legislative office suite, even
though smoking is prohibited at the state Capitol.
WSMV-TV in Nashville first reported that smoking was going on in
McCord’s office. It aired a video taken from outside the
Legislature’s War Memorial Building in which someone holding a
cigarette could be seen through a window.
“People have smoked in my office, and they are subject to
whatever punishment there may be for violations,” McCord told The
Knoxville News Sentinel. When asked if he had ever smoked in the
area he said yes.
Officials of the state Department of Labor and Workforce
Development, which enforces Tennessee’s smoking ban, have reviewed
the video, and “it clearly shows there could be a violation of the
law,” department spokeswoman Milissa Reierson said.
Ashtrays, an air purification system and a sandbag used to seal
the space below a door were all used inside a room in the suite
McCord shares with Rep. Parkey Strader, a Knoxville Republican
who’s been absent while undergoing treatment for cancer.
Reierson said that department procedure is to send an advisory
letter to the appropriate state official who oversees the building.
If a second violation occurs, there would then be a warning
letter, and, after a third violation, the building owner would be
subject to a $100 fine. An individual caught smoking after a
warning letter is subject to a $50 fine.
McCord was among lawmakers who voted for the 2006 measure that
banned smoking in government buildings. He voted against a
statewide ban on smoking in indoor workplaces in 2007.
McCord said he was concerned about the way WSMV reporter Jeremy
Finley and a videojournalist developed their story. McCord said
other legislators claimed they saw the pair enter the office suite
when no one was present, opening filing cabinet drawers while
inside.
According to the TV station’s report, 12 bottles of liquor were
found in one cabinet and were shown in a video. There is no
prohibition against storing alcoholic beverages at state
legislative offices, according to a 1982 attorney general’s
opinion.
Finley said the cabinet was in a conference room that is open to
the public.
“We consulted with our attorneys to make sure we were not
invading anybody’s personal space,” he said.
Reierson said only one business, a Nashville bowling lane, has
been fined $100 under the smoking ban law. No individual has been
fined the $50 fee.
Eleven state-owned buildings have received advisory letters
because of alleged violations, including the University of
Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium.
Rep. Brian Kelsey, R-Germantown, who complained on the House
floor last year that some colleagues he did not name were ignoring
the smoking ban, said Tuesday that he was “embarrassed that we
still have people flouting our state laws.”
——
Information from: The Knoxville News Sentinel, www.knoxnews.com
