AUGUSTA – State lawmakers moved forward with a bill that would ban smoking on state beaches, but killed another that would have affected all municipal beaches and parks.

Members of the Health and Human Services Committee voted unanimously in favor of Sen. John Nutting’s proposal, which prohibits smoking on or within 20 feet of places people and families gather in state parks and historic sites. That includes beaches, playgrounds snack bars, group picnic shelters and restrooms, according to the bill sponsored by the Leeds Democrat.

But the legislators declined to pass a similar bill that would have banned smoking on all public beaches, opting instead to send a letter to municipalities encouraging them to enact a ban, rather than mandating it from the State House.

“We’ve made some good progress and I’ll work with Sen. Nutting and the committee to draft the letter,” said Rep. L. Gary Knight, R-Livermore Falls, who sponsored the bill that died in committee. “I’m a great believer in having things start at the local level, but it’s truly a problem, a health problem here in the state, and it’s a litter problem.”

Knight said he would likely file the bill again another year if he felt towns didn’t address the issue sufficiently on their own.

Kate Dufour, a representative of the Maine Municipal Association, said her group was pleased by the committee’s decision. MMA had opposed Knight’s bill on the grounds that it would cost municipalities money to enforce the new law.

“If a municipality and its residents think it’s an important issue to address, then they have the tools locally to address it,” she said.