It is the biggest non-vote to come out of Harrisburg in years. Without debate, without yeas or nays, and without the governor signing one more bill, Pennsylvanians have a chance to toughen their local laws against that bane of good health: smoking.

In the last month, it has become increasingly evident and generally accepted by lawyers, lobbyists and politicians that the "pre-emption clause," which barred local communities from having stricter laws than the state on indoor smoking, does not exist.

In a nutshell, the clause was passed in 1988 as part of Pennsylvania's Clean Indoor Air Act, the chief feature of which required restaurants with more than 75 seats to provide separate smoking and nonsmoking sections. The clause was repealed 11 years later, then the repeal was repealed to reinstate the pre-emption clause. But that, it turns out, was not a legal way to restore a law.

Regardless, Purdon's Pennsylvania Statutes, the official reference book of state laws, continued to print that no local law could pre-empt the state standard on smoking in the workplace. The error was discovered last year when research was being done for an anti-smoking bill introduced by Sen. Stewart Greenleaf of Montgomery County. Purdon's has acknowledged the error, and once again Pennsylvania counties, cities, boroughs and townships are free to pass stiffer laws against indoor smoking than the state's weak, 15-year-old rule.

Since then, progress has been made in states and cities around the country to curb the malodorous habit that can lead to cancer, heart disease and emphysema. California banned smoking in public places nine years ago. New York and Delaware now outlaw smoking in all workplaces, while Florida, Vermont, Utah and Idaho prohibit smoking in restaurants and other workplaces, but not in bars. Even Lexington, Ky., in the heart of tobacco country, bans smoking in restaurants, bars, bowling alleys, nightclubs, laundries and other public places.

Although many enlightened employers choose to prohibit smoking on their own at their work sites, tavern and restaurant owners have been reluctant to join the trend for fear of losing customers (many establishments that have made the change argue differently). That means inhaling secondhand smoke is an occupational hazard for cooks, bartenders and wait staff. It doesn't have to be that way.

In fact, any workplace can be given a good "airing" if a municipality wants to do better than Pennsylvania law, now that the pre-emption clause is history.

Sen. Greenleaf's repeated attempts to get a better state law on indoor smoking have been commendable and his new bill this year deserves support. But, with his fellow Republicans who run the Senate turning a deaf ear to his proposal and with lobbyists out to stymie his efforts, it's time to let a thousand flowers bloom elsewhere in Pennsylvania.

Public officials in Pittsburgh and Allegheny County, which pioneered industrial smoke controls in the last century, should turn their attention to the insidious breathing hazard that lurks indoors. What better way to value residents and welcome newcomers than the offer of clean air?