Case Studies
Local Comprehensive Clean Indoor Air Ordinance in
Texas
Evaluation
Type(s) of Evaluation
Planned or Conducted and Status
What is the status of
your evaluation?
Completed
Do you address
process evaluation?
During
the time the city council was considering the ordinance,
the local media (the El Paso Times and KVIA, the ABC
affiliate) sponsored an opinion poll. That poll,
conducted in April 2001, found that more than two-thirds
of those surveyed supported the ordinance.
Do you address
outcome evaluation?
Coalition members consider the 7 to 1 vote in favor of
the ordinance their strongest evaluation measure,
compelling evidence of the success of their grassroots
campaign.
That said, two types of more formal outcome evaluation
were undertaken, measuring public
opinion/attitudes/behaviors and economic indicators. A
summary of enforcement activities was also assembled.
Two opinion polls were conducted. In February 2002, one
month after the ordinance went into effect, the El Paso
Times and KVIA sponsored an opinion poll, a follow-up to
their April 2001 poll. In December 2002, the Texas
Department of Health and Clearwater Research conducted a
survey for the Paso del Norte Health Foundation, to
measure El Paso residents’ knowledge of and attitudes
toward the ordinance after one year of implementation.
In March 2003, the Mayor’s office conducted an economic
impact analysis, to determine the ordinance’s effect on
the hospitality industry. He also summarized enforcement
activities for the first year of the ordinance.
Briefly describe the
evaluation design.
No
information is available on the design of the opinion
polls sponsored by the El Paso Times and KVIA (according
to press reports, the February 2002 survey was of 300
registered voters in the city).
The survey conducted for the Paso del Norte Health
Foundation consisted of items related to demographics,
personal tobacco use behaviors, knowledge of and
attitudes toward the ordinance, attitudes towards
secondhand smoke, and behavioral intentions re: going to
smoke-free venues. The survey used the city of El Paso
as its sampling frame, and used a truncated,
list-assisted sample design with the household as the
primary sampling unit. About 2,003 adults with
telephones, living within the city limits of El Paso,
were interviewed. The interviews were conducted in
English or in Spanish, depending on the respondents’
preference. The data were weighted for differing
probabilities of selection, and post-stratified to
reflect the adult population of El Paso.
The mayor’s economic impact analysis compared rates of
increase in the total amount of sales in eating and
drinking establishments in fiscal Quarters 1 and 2 in
years prior to the ordinance (2000 and 2001), with
fiscal Quarters 1 and 2 of 2002 (the first two quarters
the ordinance went into effect). He also compared
employment statistics for 2001 and 2002 from the Texas
Workforce Commission.
The summary of enforcement activities was based on
information collected by the Police Department.
Data Collection
Methods
- Telephone Interview/Survey
- Other: Economic data collected
by state agencies; complaints to, and citations
issued by the police department
Data Source
- Tax Revenue Data
- Other:
- Public Opinion polls
conducted by the local newspaper (El Paso Times)
and ABC-affiliate (KVIA)
- Telephone survey
conducted for the Paso del Norte Health
Foundation
- Employment statistics from the
Texas Workforce Commission
- Citations issued
and calls to the Police Department seeking
enforcement
Range of Intended
Outcomes
- Behavior Change
- Policy Change
- Increased Knowledge
- Attitude Change
- Change in Norms
List key evaluation
findings and/or conclusions for each intended outcome.
In
February 2002, one month after the ordinance went into
effect, the El Paso Times/KVIA poll of 300 registered
voters found that 93 percent of respondents reported
that they would go out the same (49%) or more often
(44%) now that the ordinance was in effect.
In December 2002, one year after the ordinance went into
effect, the Paso del Norte Health Foundation survey
found that 78.5 percent of respondents indicated that
they supported the ordinance, and only 10.9 percent
opposed it (the rest reported no opinion). Although
general knowledge about the existence of the ordinance
was high, familiarity with the specifics was spotty.
Nearly nine of ten respondents (87.9%) knew there was an
ordinance, and over half (59.6%) knew that the ordinance
banned smoking in bowling alleys. More than 7 in 10 knew
that smoking was banned in restaurants, but less than 40
percent knew that bars were also required to be
smoke-free.
The Paso del Norte Health Foundation survey also found a
significant decline in adult smoking, from 22.1 percent
in 1996 to 17.3 percent at the time of the survey (a 20%
decline).
The mayor’s economic impact analysis found that total
sales subject to state sales tax in eating and drinking
establishments continued to grow at a steady pace after
the ordinance went into effect. Total sales for the
first two quarters of 2002 increased by 4.4 percent, up
slightly from the prior year’s increase of 2.5 percent.
The number of waiters and waitresses also went up, by
300, from 2001 to 2002.
The mayor also provided a summary of enforcement
activities from January 2, 2002, through March 8, 2003.
The summary showed that a total of 247 first offense
citations and 1 second offense citation had been issued.
In the first year, the police department received an
average 15 calls a month asking for enforcement; in 2003
this increased to 22 calls per month. The police
department believes this indicates that residents are
becoming more aware of the ordinance.
Were evaluation
findings and/or conclusions disseminated to policy
and/or program intervention stakeholders?
Not
surprisingly, the results of the polls sponsored by the
media received print and TV-coverage. The coalition also
included the results in materials shared with the
council, and in its testimony.
The coalition shared the results of the Paso del Norte
Health Foundation study with the city council, the
police department (which enforces the ordinance), and
the media.
Mayor Caballero’s office held a press conference with
the ordinance sponsor, Mayor Pro Tem Larry Medina, to
release the results of the economic impact analysis,
together with a summary of enforcement activities.
Briefly describe how
evaluation findings and/or conclusions were used to
inform program planning or development?
Evaluation findings could
be used to refine policy and program intervention
strategies, increase staff, technical assistance, and
training.
Evaluation Notes
N/A
Page last modified 07/25/2007
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