Snafu Delays Smoking Law’s Enforcement : Legislation: No agency has been selected to oversee the state’s tough new tobacco legislation. A total of 125 complaints have piled up as a result.

Despite a new state law that sharply restricts smoking in public places, more than 100 allegations of violations this year have not been investigated because of an oversight by city officials.

No enforcement of the tough new law can take place until the Los Angeles City Council picks a local agency to do so. Meanwhile, a 1993 city ordinance that also restricted smoking was largely displaced by the new state law on Jan. 1.

The council is set to consider a proposal by Councilman Marvin Braude today naming the city attorney’s office and the Fire Department to enforce the state law jointly.

The city attorney’s office, which had been executing the 1993 ordinance, has stopped enforcing the city’s provisions preempted by the state legislation. Officials said most restrictions imposed by the ordinance were voided by the state law.

The latter bans smoking in virtually all enclosed workplaces, including restaurants, parts of hotel lobbies and almost all other work sites with four walls and a ceiling. Bars, gaming halls and large warehouses are among places where it will still be OK to smoke.

The law preempted all local anti-smoking ordinances that are less restrictive than the new state legislation.

Mike Qualls, a spokesman for the city attorney, said his office advised Braude’s staff in mid-December that the council was required to name an agent to enforce the state legislation.

Glenn Barr, an aide to Braude, said that wasn’t so.

“I’m a bit disappointed that the city attorney did not anticipate that there were specific actions that the council would have to take, and advise it of such,” Barr said, “but it’s also true that there is nobody on the city attorney’s staff that functions as a legislative analyst . . . so I can’t say they were derelict in their responsibility.”

But Qualls said the only thing left unclear after mid-December was which office in the city government would be picked as an enforcer.

He said his office had received 125 reports since Jan. 1 of people or establishments ignoring the anti-smoking law but has not investigated.

“We have been keeping a record, and we’ll act on these complaints as soon as we get guidance from the council on how the enforcement scheme will operate,” Qualls said.

Under Braude’s proposal, the city attorney’s office would continue to log complaints and write warning letters. If the smoker or establishment continued to ignore the law, the Fire Department would send out an inspector and, if necessary, cite the violator.

The net effect, Barr said, would be to delay the enforcement “for a couple of months.”

“I’m sorry about the diners or workers who may have suffered in the past few weeks,” he said. “It could have been avoided, but I don’t think that in the long view it will be terribly serious.”