One county in Minnesota made national headlines this week when it announced its plans to ban smoking everywhere on its property — including employees’ own vehicles.

Smoking is already prohibited inside the Hennepin County Government Center, located in Minneapolis. If the proposals are approved, smokers caught in the act on pavement or in vehicles parked on the property could be liable for fines.

The ban, which would take effect July 1, could eventually expand to libraries, county sites and county-leased properties.

Supporters of the ban say it will improve worker productivity, make the property cleaner and reduce workers’ exposure to secondhand smoke.

I don’t think this proposal is about health or cleanliness at all — it’s just an infringement on citizens’ rights.

I don’t smoke and never have, but when government attempts to dictate something that is perfectly legal, that is overstepping its boundaries.

First of all, employees should be reprimanded if they are wasting time smoking in their cars, sure. But if they are out smoking during an allotted break, that’s their right. They aren’t smoking near the building entrances, so there’s not the secondhand smoke risk. If they are leaving cigarette butts everywhere, fine them for littering if they are caught, or put up some smoking urns.

I think most adults know the health risks associated with smoking. They choose to smoke, and some try to quit, while others have no desire to.

As far as enforcement goes, in this case, the county’s security is supposedly going to be in charge of catching the smoking bandits. Is that really a good use of their time? How many county governments have the luxury of adding “smoking police” to their security’s duties?

The point is that smoking is legal, like it or not, and vehicles are people’s property.

As a previous Minnesota resident, this kind of proposal isn’t totally surprising to me. The state is very health-conscious, consistently ranked one of the highest in the country for its low number of smokers (16.8 percent of adults), abundance of recreational opportunities and residents’ life expectancy (80.5 years, No. 2 in U.S.).

But it also has a reputation for pointless laws such as this one, a way of pushing people to do something because they believe it is “correct” or in the public’s best interest.

I also expect this will have a domino effect, until smokers may not even be able to smoke in their own homes. (OK, maybe that’s an exaggeration.)

There are cases when government needs to focus on important matters, and this isn’t one of them.

Katie Rohman is the managing editor of the Niles Daily Star, Off the Water, Cassopolis Vigilant and Edwardsburg Argus. She can be reached at (269) 687-7713 or at katie.rohman@leaderpub.com.