The Montana Clean Indoor Air Act Prohibits smoking inside all public places, and with more smokers stepping outside, an existing city ordinance is coming under fire in Great Falls.

A representative from the Montana Tavern Association and the Montana Coin Machine Operators Association spoke to City Commissioners at Tuesday night's work session about the state's only ordinance dictating how far a person must be from a building while smoking.

"A smoker needs to be 20 feet away from a door, window or an air vent,” said John Hayes, the Executive Director of the Montana Tavern Association. “And physically, here in the city of Great Falls, that's almost impossible on some of our city streets; for instance, Central Avenue."

However, City Attorney Chad Parker says that his office has a responsibility to protect citizens from second-hand smoke.

The Clean Indoor Air Act has a provision about smoke "infiltrating" a public space, meaning certain behavior is also prohibited by state law.

The commission requested more information about other cities with smoking bans and similar ordinances in place before they take action.

Then, at the commission meeting, a public hearing about the possible sale of city park land to the salvation army was set for December 1st. That non-profit built its Community Center on the land, which they've leased for the past 35 years.