Rejecting a deal brokered by House Speaker William J. Howell, R-Stafford, House Republicans yesterday pushed through a weakened version of a statewide ban on restaurant smoking that Howell fashioned with Gov. Timothy M. Kaine.

Rejecting a deal brokered by House Speaker William J. Howell, R-Stafford, House Republicans yesterday pushed through a weakened version of a statewide ban on restaurant smoking that Howell fashioned with Gov. Timothy M. Kaine. Before voting 61-38 to give tentative approval to House Bill 1703, members added more exceptions to the compromise, which already made allowances for private clubs and restaurants with a designated smoking room that is separated and independently ventilated.