TOPEKA (AP) – Kansas Supreme Court justices are weighing arguments over a portion of the statewide smoking ban that some bar owners say could put them out of business.

The court heard arguments Wednesday over a trial judge’s 2010 injunction blocking a provision of the ban affecting a specific class of private clubs.

The Downtown Bar and Grill in Tonganoxie received its club license in May 2009, five months after a cutoff date contained in the law. The bar’s attorney says the date was arbitrary and would
force his client out of business if he had to comply with the ban.

State attorneys say the cutoff was designed to keep bars from circumventing the ban by changing their licensing.

The lower court ruled the cutoff was arbitrary and issued the injunction.