(a) An owner or operator of any of the following areas may exempt itself from this part:

1. (1) Private residences, except when used as a licensed childcare, adult daycare, or healthcare facility;

2. (2)

   1. (A) Hotel and motel rooms that are:

(i) Rented to guests; and

1. (ii) Designated as smoking rooms.

   1. (B) However, if a hotel or motel has more than twenty-five (25) guest rooms, not more than twenty percent (20%) of rooms rented to guests in a hotel or motel may be designated as exempt from this part;

2. (3)

   1. (A) All workplaces of any employer with fewer than three (3) employees.
   2. (B) This exemption does not apply to any public place;
3. (4) A retail tobacco store, if secondhand smoke from the store does not infiltrate into areas where smoking is prohibited under this part;
4. (5) Areas within long-term care facilities that are designated by the facility as a smoking area or for supervised patient smoking only;
5. (6) Outdoor areas of places of employment;
6. (7) All workplaces of any manufacturer, importer, or wholesaler of tobacco products, of any tobacco leaf dealer or processor, and all tobacco storage facilities; and

7. (8)

   1. (A) All restaurants and bars licensed by the State of Arkansas that prohibit at all times all persons less than twenty-one (21) years of age from entering the premises, if secondhand smoke does not infiltrate into areas where smoking is prohibited under this part.
   2. (B) All restaurants and bars that are exempt shall prominently display a health warning sign as defined by the State Board of Health; and
8. (9) Designated smoking areas on the gaming floor of any franchisee of the Arkansas Racing Commission.

(b) Any owner or operator of an entity as defined in subdivision (a)(2), subdivision (a)(3), or subdivision (a)(8) of this section must certify to the Department of Health that they are eligible for an exemption utilizing the exemption form found in the Appendix.

1. (c) Acts 2005, No. 134, as codified in Arkansas Code § 20-27-704 et seq., and not the Clean Indoor Air Act of 2006, Arkansas Code § 20-21-1801 et seq., shall govern any smoking prohibitions in medical facilities, as defined in Arkansas Code § 20-27-705(2), and in psychiatric hospitals, as defined by the board’s Rules for Hospitals and Related Institutions, 20 CAR pt. 41.