Missouri going smoke-free by 2011?

Get ready for another round of fighting over smoking.

Missouri state Rep. Walt Bivins is sponsoring a bill that would ban smoking in all bars, restaurants and businesses starting in 2011. Even casinos wouldn’t be exempt. The only exceptions would be private residences, tobacco shops and 20 percent of hotel rooms.

Bivins, a St. Louis County Republican, is pushing H.B. 1766 (read it here), and it’s receiving bi-partisan support, including from a pair of local Democrats — Tom McDonald and Shalonn Curls — who are co-sponsoring the bill.

That’s not likely to sit well with the Kansas City Business Rights Coalition.

Hat tip to our friends at the Riverfront Times.