Dec. 30--DENVER -- The votes were cast and Gov. Bill Ritter's signature was inked seven months ago on Colorado's new casino smoking ban, but one of the bill's main advocates questions how much it will be enforced.

Stephanie Steinberg, chairwoman of Smoke-Free Gaming of Colorado, said she has seen and heard of plans to build employee smoking shacks and covered patios in Cripple Creek, Black Hawk and Central City.

She has heard rumors, too, that some casinos will defy the law openly when they are ordered to snuff out all cigarettes and cigars at 8 a.m. New Year's Day.

Cripple Creek Development Director Larry Manning has said some casinos are working on smoking patios but that officials haven't made any attempt to redefine an enclosed area. Central City, meanwhile, passed a law adopting smoking regulations for enclosed smoking areas.

Because of such developments, Steinberg and other smoke-free advocates will patrol the casinos Jan. 1 and 2 to see whether some are out of compliance. She has sent letters to casinos explaining what they must do to follow the law, but she expects she may need to contact police departments and the Attorney General's Office if enforcement is lacking, she said.

"If these enclosures meet the definition of an indoor area under the Colorado Clean Indoor Act, they're illegal," Steinberg said. "We certainly anticipate that the casinos will be law-abiding. . . . But (enforcement) should be a priority."

The casino smoking ban is the most high-profile of the 23 new laws that go into effect Jan. 1, but it is not the only one that will have ramifications for Coloradans. Here is a look at some of the other new measures that will govern state residents:

- Small-group insurers no longer will be able to charge more or give discounts to companies based on the existing health or claims history of employees. Another bill established a committee to provide health insurance to all low-income state children by 2010.

- Large-group health insurance policies must cover a wider range of mental health disorders and offer hospice care coverage. All individual and group health benefit plans must add cervical cancer immunization coverage for girls less than 20 years of age.

- Several bills address the spate of foreclosures by requiring that debt-management services create fair debt-repayment plans and by increasing the time a homeowner has to cure an assessment delinquency once their house has been foreclosed upon. The state also will begin licensing mortgage brokers in 2008.

- The state will be able to intercept the gambling winnings of parents who are overdue on child-support payments.

- The Pikes Peak Regional Transportation Authority and other local road-taxing districts will not have to pay as much to the state in administration fees because of a bill by Rep. Larry Liston, R-Colorado Springs. The PPRTA is expected to get back about $130,000 more in fiscal 2007-08 and about $260,000 more in the fiscal year beginning July 1.

CONTACT THE WRITER: (303) 837-0613 or ed.sealover@gazette.com

-----

To see more of The Gazette, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.gazette.com.

Copyright (c) 2007, The Gazette, Colorado Springs, Colo.

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.