Are colleges permitted to ban smoking on campus?
Yes. During the General Assemblys 2006 session, the legislature amended G.S. 143-599 to exempt community colleges from the state law requiring 20% of the interior space of most public buildings be set aside as a smoking area unless such designation was impracticable. As a result, colleges are free to ban smoking in all buildings and on all campus grounds. However, colleges should note that in enacting the exemption, the General Assembly also exempted college facilities from enforcement provisions of the statute. No longer will law enforcement officers be able to issue a citation to violators of campus smoking policies under Article 64 of Chapter 143 of the General Statutes. Under this Article, violators could have been found guilty of an infraction and fined up to $25.00. As a result, college trustees may want to adopt policies establishing an appropriate punishment for violators of smoking bans. Once a board of trustees adopts a smoking ban, the question of how to enforce the ban surf
