MADISON, Wis. -- After months of debate, a statewide smoking ban proposal got a first vote in a legislative committee on Tuesday.

The Senate Committee on Public Health passed the bill on a 3-2 vote. The proposal would make all work places smoke-free starting next year, but bars and restaurants would have until 2010 to comply.

"We can't ignore this political reality just because people feel passionate about an issue. The responsible thing to do is to try to find middle ground," said Pat Kreitlow, D-Chippewa Falls.

The later date for bars and restaurants was offered as a compromise designed to help generate support for the measure. But even after the compromise was offered to move a deadlock between sides, the future of the bill is still uncertain.

"In this case I represent an area that has hundreds, if not thousands, of small entrepreneurs that want to know if they're going to get adequate notice before a big change is made to their way of life," Kreitlow said.

But the compromise isn't enough for anti-smoking advocates.

"We're disappointed about this," said Alison Prange with the American Cancer Society. "There's no safe level of secondhand smoke. The world knows it; the country knows it, with 22 states that have gone smoke-free, and there is no time to waste in protecting people from the dangers."

Some taverns currently under Madison's smoking ban are arguing that a delay leaves them on an island even longer.

"We have a choice. We can do this statewide, do it right, not put bars through what my guys are going through, which is this economic up and down," said Jerry Deschane, a government relations adviser representing four Madison taverns.

The Tavern League continues to argue that all taverns should be exempt from a smoking ban. In the meantime, it's unclear just what future the bill might have.

"We may find out that we've been arguing with ourselves all this time and there's not much time left for the Assembly to take up something, and certainly there's no guarantee that they will," Kreitlow said.

A spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch said it's too early to speculate on whether the Assembly will take up a bill that hasn't passed the Senate, and it's not a sure thing that the bill will even get to the full Senate.

A spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker said she doesn't believe the bill has enough votes in the Senate. Decker believes the compromise moves things in the right direction, but more work is needed before it would be scheduled in the Senate.

Prior to Tuesday's vote, Gov. Jim Doyle was vocal in his support for the ban.