MADISON, Wis. -- The state Senate narrowly killed a bill Wednesday that would have banned smoking in large restaurants' dining rooms throughout Wisconsin but allowed it in some taverns.

Republican Sen. Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau was the main sponsor of the bill and said it would have ended a patchwork of anti-smoking ordinances popping up around the state.

Twenty-seven Wisconsin communities currently have some kind of anti-smoking ordinance, according to the anti-tobacco group Smoke Free Wisconsin.

Madison's ban is one of the toughest, prohibiting smoking in all bars and restaurants.

The bill would have grandfathered in Madison's current smoking ban, but limited other communities from creating new restrictions on smoking.

There would have been no changes to Madison's smoking ban under the bill. Instead, it would have set a new, uniform standard for communities without anti-smoking laws.

Opponents said it would have solidified a weak standard and stopped communities from making tougher laws against smoking.

The bill would have allowed smoking in bars statewide and in bar areas in restaurants, except in those communities, such as Madison, which already have laws prohibiting smoking in bars.

The Assembly passed the bill last summer, but couldn't find enough votes in the Senate.

Fitzgerald amended the measure Wednesday allowing current local smoking ordinances to stand, but the Senate still defeated the measure 17-14.

The vote scrambled party lines, with nine Republicans and eight Democrats voting to defeat the bill. Four Democrats and 10 Republicans voted to pass it.