It’s official: the Virginia House of Delegates killed the latest package of smoking ban proposals in a subcommittee Thursday. The set of proposed bans would have barred smoking in restaurants, offices and other public places. The bills’ defeat means a state-wide ban won’t come before the Virginia legislature again this year.

The House had previously spiked their own versions of the smoking ban proposals. Yesterday’s subcommittee action put an end to the bills that had been passed in the Senate.

The move is a sound defeat for Gov. Tim Kaine (D), who has been pushing for a state-wide smoking ban in several forms since he took office. Unlike some other states, such as Maryland, Virginia does not grant the power to counties or cities to enact bans on their own. With this latest move, the Virginia House of Delegates has ensured that smoking will continue to be legal in bars and restaurants in nearby Northern Virginia for the foreseeable future.

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