It's the law

Remember the item in last week's column about the smoky bar I visited in Honey Brook? A few people asked me how a bar could rate an exemption from the state's no-smoking law.
There are two ways, I found out. In both cases, the bar can't admit people under 18, it has to have signs posted at every door saying smoking is allowed, and it has to have "a valid restaurant liquor license or an eating place retail dispenser license." In the first type, food sales have to account for 20% or less of the establishment's total sales. In the second type, the bar area has to be separate from the eating area, and the food sales in that smoking area area have to account for 20% or less of total sales in the smoking area.

In another legislative quirk, I was surprised to see a purple-and-white "Classic Car" license plate on a not-especially-old Ford Explorer the other day and wondered what exactly the definition was. According to the PennDOT website: "Classic Motor Vehicle - A motor vehicle, but not a reproduction thereof, manufactured at least 15 years prior to the current year, which has been maintained in or restored to a condition, which is substantially in conformity with manufacturer specifications and appearance." To be considered an "Antique Motor Vehicle," the same applies, except it has to be more than 25 years old.