BISMARCK - Athough the bill that would ban smoking in cars when children younger than 16 wasn't debated in the House on Tuesday, it was on the calendar with a "do not pass" recommendation from the House Transportation Committee.

"I was surprised at how it came out," said Sen. Stan Lyson, R-Williston, who sponsored House Bill 2070 on behalf of a group of seventh-grade students from Williston.

Rep. Dan Ruby, R-Minot, who chairs the House Transportation Committee, said the committee appreciated the great job the students did presenting the bill but said the majority of the committee members felt that the bill would be taking a step toward infringing on the rights of people in their personal vehicles. They gave the bill the "do not pass" recommendation by a vote of 7 to 6.

Ruby said concerns of the committee were that it would be the next step toward impacting behavior in private homes, that it would be difficult to enforce and that it didn't make sense to restrict smoking in just one location when parents and children are together.

No one spoke against the bill in either the Senate or House hearings, and it previously passed the Senate by a vote of 35 to 10.

The bill was moved to the bottom of the calendar so that legislators who weren't there because of flooding issues could participate in the debate another day.