D.C. Mayor Anthony Williams offers a glimmer of hope on fighting the city wide smoking ban repeal of property rights, reports ABC News.

The mayor says with the hospitality industry being so important to the city's economy, he can't support an outright smoking ban for bars, restaurants and nightclubs. [...]

The mayor says he supports Republican Councilwoman Carol Schwartz's efforts to provide tax breaks for bars, restaurants and nightclubs that voluntarily go smoke-free - saying it could be a reasonable compromise.

On the surface it sounds reasonable, but I wonder if the tax benefits will eventually turn into tax punishments for those that don't toe the government line. It also sets up an unlevel business playing field on the basis of the government wanting to control people's behavior. Given that the D.C. government isn't likely to cut spending to match the tax breaks, those tax dollars will have to be made up somewhere else, and you know what that means.