PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) – Rhode Island would become the seventh state to ban smoking in most workplaces, under a bill unanimously approved by the Senate on Wednesday.

The House has approved an identical bill, which still is subject to a procedural vote.

Gov. Don Carcieri is expected to support the ban, though his spokesman said he may let it become law without his signature.

The proposed ban would take effect in March for most workplaces and enclosed public places.

Temporary or limited exemptions are allowed for gambling centers Lincoln Park and Newport Grand, some private clubs and certain bars with fewer than 10 employees.

The gambling halls would have their restaurants and some gaming areas designated as smoke-free after Oct. 1, 2006. Lincoln Park and Newport Grand already have some smoke-free gaming areas.

Ventilation systems in public places where smoking is allowed would have to be inspected yearly, and these reports would have to be filed with the state Department of Health.

Rhode Island has more than 300 smoke-free restaurants. East Greenwich is the only one of the state’s 39 communities to impose smoking restrictions on eateries.

The American Cancer Society called the statewide ban “a key victory for all Ocean State residents who want our state to be a healthy place to live, work and visit.”

Advocates for the ban gathered in the Statehouse rotunda to hail the legislation – and to hand out balloons and congratulations to bill sponsors.

“For everyone who wants to breathe in Rhode Island, this is a great day,” said Margaret Kane, executive director of the American Lung Association of Rhode Island. Kane said she’s been fighting for such a ban for 30 years.

House Majority Leader Gordon Fox, D-Providence, sponsored the bill and said it “protects workers, saves lives and … puts Rhode Island in the forefront” of states ensuring workplace safety.

Rhode Island would join six other states – Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Maine, Delaware and California – that have already approved statewide bans.

In other business at the General Assembly, the House:

– Unanimously approved allowing a state fire-safety board to consider delaying deadlines for businesses to install sprinklers. The deadlines are being phased in over the next two years for nightclubs and other places of assembly. They were approved last year after a West Warwick nightclub fire claimed 100 lives. The bill now moves to the Senate.

– Approved by a 50-13 vote a Senate-passed bill allowing liquor stores to sell alcohol on most Sundays.

AP-ES-06-23-04 1920EDT