The two chambers of the Virginia General Assembly voted this afternoon to pass a ban on smoking in restaurants except where there is a separately ventilated smoking room.

It now goes to Gov. Tim Kaine, who told reporters “I think it will be signed quite promptly in the quickest drying ink I can find.”

The legislature’s passage of the bill is a historic landmark in a state that founded its economy on tobacco and is still home to Philip Morris USA – maker of Marlboro cigarettes and one of the world’s largest tobacco manufacturers.

“It’s just an idea whose time has come,” said Del. John Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake, who sponsored the House version of the bill.

The core of the bill is a compromise that had been agreed to by Kaine and House Speaker Bill Howell, R-Stafford County, earlier this month. It bans smoking in all restaurants except for private clubs and restaurants with separately ventilated smoking sections.

The House voted 60-39 to approve the bill, while the Senate voted 27-13.

The version approved by the House and Senate includes further clarification to allow smoking in outdoor areas, and it delays the bill’s effective date until Dec. 1, 2009.

In related news, a House subcommittee voted this morning to kill another Northam-sponsored bill (SB 1106) that would have made it a crime to smoke in a motor vehicle when a minor is present.