Posted on 05/19/2009 1:47:49 PM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
San Francisco, CA (AHN) - San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom is hoping to impose a fee on one of the biggest culprits of streets and sanitation systems across the nation: the cigarette butt.
Newsom's proposal, which is slated to be introduced next month to the San Francisco Boards of Supervisors, would add 33 cents to the cost of a pack of cigarettes in an effort to offset the $10.7 million the city spends removing discarded butts from the city streets, gutter, and drainpipes.
Despite the likely protests from tobacco companies and smokers, Newsom maintains that the new law will help reduce city costs as well as encourage people to kick the habit.
"In general, fees help reduce the consumption and use of tobacco," Newsom said. "And we think that will have a very beneficial public health component."
San Francisco has already proved to be one of the toughest cities for smokers. Last year the city imposed a ban on the sale of tobacco at drugstores, a restriction that is being challenged in state and federal courts.
But this is not the first time Mayor Newsom has signaled a readiness to legislate health, proposing a fee in 2007 on any large store that sells drinks with high levels of fructose corn syrup.
Newsom said the cigarette butts became a target after the city's annual "little audit" found that cigarette discards make up a quarter of all the trash in the city's public spaces. Considering the city spends some $44 million a year on litter cleanup, and is facing a $500 million deficit for the coming fiscal year, the cigarette tax seemed like a logical conclusion.
"It's not a huge part of the overall budget," the mayor said of the $11 million or so in annual revenue expected to be generated by the fee. "But it's enough to keep street sweepers employed."
This has nothing to do with ‘littering’ and everything to do with greed.
It being SF, how about just a “butt fee” Mr. Mayor?
“Butt Tax to Remove Butts From SF”
“San Francisco - where they tax your butts.”
you beat me to it... tax the rumpriders...
If I am punished by a fine, for a crime I have not yet committed - then I am fully entitled to commit that crime at any time I deem fit. So, whatever percentage of smokers who do conscientiously put their cigarette butts in the trash, and are still fined - will now feel compelled to toss their butts indiscriminately. I know I would.
And a lot of the problem is caused by many people in this country who are pigs.
Was sitting on my porch a while back and a lady driving down the street stuck her arm out the window and dropped a chicken meal box with the bones. As I shouted “Hey” the drink came flying out.
Biggest eyesore is those plastic shopping bags. Hanging off tree branches, fences, dragging along under cars and blowing down the street.
Huh huh, he said “butt.”
The Bigger the Butt,, The Bigger the Tax,, uhh,, Fee..
I’m that way, too. Tell me that I CAN’T do something, or am not ALLOWED to do something, I WILL find a way to do it. ;)
Imo, way too much interest in butts in SF.
LOL
The young skank...I’m sorry, teenage girl who got herself knocked up and spends most of her time laying around, getting fat and hanging around with her friends playing loud music and being generally obnoxious drove off the other day leaving her Coke glass on the street. I went over and tossed it onto her parents lawn. Let them clean it up.
Bertha, Bella, and Basheba Butt even
I can only imagine the ingenious ways the gob’mt is going to pay the trillions off - fine for sneezing and not covering your mouth, not mowing your lawn at the predetermined height, parking 1 “ to far from the curb, not picking up your newspaper from the lawn the day it was delivered, having a “I got your change” bumper sticker on your car - the list is endless.
How much to remove the vagrant butts from the sidewalks?
My uncle says San Fran is not fit for kids. They were walking in public and a vagrant whipped it out and peed in a garbage can.
Well, at least he used the can.
So people will go outside the city limits to buy smokes. That is a great plan.
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