Topeka ? A bill aimed at eliminating smoking in public places statewide starting in 2007 was reviewed Wednesday by a House committee whose chairman is pushing the idea.

The proposal is patterned after an ordinance enacted last year in Lawrence, but it would apply to more places, including offices, job sites, sports arenas and even restaurants’ outdoor seating areas.

The ban wouldn’t be absolute, however. Cities and counties could hold elections to exempt themselves from the statewide prohibition.

The Federal and State Affairs Committee heard testimony in favor of the bill from health groups and criticism from a bar owner and a lobbyist for both restaurants and the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.

Chairman John Edmonds drafted the measure after reading about Lawrence’s anti-smoking ordinance. Edmonds, R-Great Bend, gave up pipe smoking two decades ago at the urging of his daughter, then a toddler.

“My right to smoke ends where you have to breathe it,” Edmonds said.

But Joni Bocelewatz, who owns two bars with her husband in downtown Kansas City, Kan., said the measure would hurt businesses like hers. In border counties, she predicted, smokers would simply go to bars and restaurants across the state line.

Edmonds said he is isn’t sure how much support his measure has and does not know when his committee will take action.

“I’m going to count votes first,” he said.