COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Lawmakers have removed part of a proposal that would have given local governments the authority to restrict indoor smoking.

Instead, senators approved a bill banning smoking on school property.

Senator Darrell Jackson says the state should allow municipalities to ban smoking in bars and restaurants but that issue should be debated separately from the school smoking ban.

The decision comes less than a week after a judge ruled Greenville's smoking ban violated state law.

Judge John Few wrote that the state's smoking laws supersede anything local governments can do.

His ruling came three months after another judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging a similar smoking ban in Sullivans Island.

Both sides say a decision from the state Supreme Court or legislative action could clear up the issue statewide.