Boone County, IN Public Conduct: Outdoor Smoking Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Boone County Code § 93.10
- Buffer distance
- 100 feet from jail, annex, courthouse entrances
- Also covered
- All polling places countywide
- Penalty class
- Class C infraction, I.C. 34-28-5-4
- Adopted
- Ord. 2009-06, passed 10-5-2009
- Scope
- County-owned buildings, not parks or sidewalks
Summary
Boone County Code § 93.10 bars tobacco use inside any county-owned structure and within 100 feet of the front entrances of the Boone County Jail, County Annex, and Courthouse, plus at all polling places. Smokers may step outside a covered building's prohibited zone, but smoke may not drift back in through doors, windows, or vents. Violators face a Class C infraction under I.C. 34-28-5-4.
§ 93.10 PUBLIC FACILITIES.
(A) Tobacco shall be prohibited:
(1) Within any structure owned by the County of Boone, except private residences leased from the county;
(2) Within 100 feet of the front main entrances to the Boone County Law Enforcement Facility (Jail), Boone County Annex, and the Boone County Courthouse; and
(3) Polling places.
(B) Tobacco use may occur at a reasonable distance outside any enclosed area where such use is prohibited, but tobacco use must be accomplished so as to ensure that tobacco smoke does not enter the area through entrances, windows, ventilation systems or any other means.
(C) Persons violating the provisions of this section shall be subject to the penalty imposed for a Class C infraction, as set forth in I.C. 34-28-5-4. Accordingly, this section shall be enforced by the provisions of I.C. 34-28-5.
Full Breakdown
Section 93.10 of the Boone County Code, adopted by Ord. 2009-06 on 10-5-2009, is the county's tobacco-use restriction for unincorporated Boone County, Indiana. Under division (A), tobacco is prohibited inside any structure the County of Boone owns, except private residences the county leases out; within 100 feet of the front main entrances of the Boone County Law Enforcement Facility (the jail), the Boone County Annex, and the Boone County Courthouse; and at every polling place in the county. The ban targets government buildings and voting sites rather than parks, sidewalks, or business patios, so it is not a comprehensive outdoor smoking ban countywide.
Division (B) lets a smoker move to "a reasonable distance outside any enclosed area" to use tobacco, but the smoke still cannot be allowed to drift back through entrances, windows, ventilation systems, or any other opening into the prohibited space. That makes the 100-foot buffer around the jail, annex, and courthouse entrances the practical outdoor limit near those buildings.
Enforcement runs through state law rather than a county-set fine: division (C) makes a violation a Class C infraction under I.C. 34-28-5-4, and the section is enforced under I.C. 34-28-5's infraction procedures. Citations are handled through the county court system the way any other Indiana infraction is, rather than through a separate animal-control or code-enforcement track, and the Boone County Sheriff's Office and Board of Commissioners' facility staff are the ones who flag violations at the jail, annex, and courthouse.
Violations & Fines
A person smoking inside a county-owned building, within the 100-foot entrance buffer at the jail, County Annex, or Courthouse, or at a polling place violates § 93.10(A) and is charged with a Class C infraction under I.C. 34-28-5-4. The case proceeds under I.C. 34-28-5's infraction procedure rather than through animal-control citations, and each incident at the same location can draw a separate infraction.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I smoke outside the Boone County Courthouse?
Does Boone County ban smoking in all public parks?
What happens if I'm caught smoking at a polling place?
When did Boone County adopt its tobacco-use rule?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Boone County
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