Live Smoke Free, a program of the Association for Nonsmokers – Minnesota teamed up with local and national partners to collaborate on the development of an equity-based model smoke-free housing ordinance. Please join us for a two-part webinar series to learn about this innovative approach to promoting equity and housing stability in smoke-free housing public policy. The first webinar will feature Live Smoke Free’s Kara Skahen along with our friends from Bloomington Public Health, Center for Black Health and Equity, National Housing Law Project, and Public Health Law Center.

Visit our Public Policy page to learn more about smoke-free housing public policy in Minnesota. 

Webinar #1 Information

When: January 25, 2023, 12pm CST

This 60 minute panel discussion features members of an Equitable Enforcement Advisory Committee who collaborated in a multi-year project to draft a new model ordinance for smoke-free multiunit housing. The group’s primary goal was to prioritize residents’ perspectives and promote housing stability. While committee members agreed that an ordinance would protect residents from second- and thirdhand smoke exposure, they were also concerned about potential unintended consequences of ordinance enforcement, including resident displacement or eviction, housing insecurity, and unfair discriminatory enforcement practices and impacts. This multidisciplinary panel will explore key decision points and share important lessons learned as the group balanced residents’ different needs while shaping a model smoke-free multiunit housing ordinance.

Panelists

• Natasha Phelps, JD, Center for Black Health and Equity
• Michael Scott, Center for Black Health and Equity
• Bridgett Simmons, JD, National Housing Law Project
• Kara Skahen, MSW MPP, Association for Nonsmokers—Minnesota
• Kate Ebert, MPH CHES, City of Bloomington

Moderator

Marisa Katz, JD, Public Health Law Center

Webinar #2 Information

Exploring Key Elements of an Equity-Focused Smokefree Multiunit Housing Model Ordinance

When: March 2, 2023, 1pm CST

Public Health Law Center staff, Rachel Callanan and Marisa Katz, will provide a 45-minute overview of key elements of the recently released Minnesota Smoke-free Multiunit Housing Model Ordinance. This comprehensive model builds on the Center’s experience working on previous iterations of a California model, years of experience in supporting communities and individuals with smoke-free housing policies, and an intensive three-year national stakeholder process described in our January 25, 2023 webinar.

Health equity requires that any policy that purports to protect health must address unintended negative effects that disproportionately harm Black, Indigenous, people of color, low-income, and other priority populations. This model ordinance was constructed with the aim of protecting the health of all residents, while not jeopardizing residents’ housing stability.

Presenters

• Rachel Callanan, JD, MNM, Lead Senior Staff Attorney
• Marisa Katz, JD, Staff Attorney