Posted on 09/17/2002 8:40:55 AM PDT by kcpopps
JEFFERSON CITY - Missouri voters will decide in November whether the tax on a pack of cigarettes should be increased by 55 cents to pay for health-care programs.
A Cole County judge ruled Monday that the issue should be on the ballot, overturning a decision from Secretary of State Matt Blunt's office.
Blunt's office said earlier Monday that a separate measure to give firefighters collective bargaining rights also would be put on the Nov. 5 ballot.
Blunt had disqualified both of the ballot measures in August, saying supporters had not gathered enough signatures to place the proposals before voters.
The ruling from Circuit Judge Thomas Brown on Monday left supporters of the proposed cigarette tax increase elated.
"This is an important proposal for Missouri. It's going to improve the health and health care for the state," said Brad Ketcher, spokesman for Citizens for a Healthy Missouri.
The coalition of hospitals, health organizations and business groups spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to gather signatures for the measure.
"We contended all along we had adequate signatures, and now the court has vindicated our position," Ketcher said.
Gov. Bob Holden called the ruling a victory for Missourians.
"Statistics show that increasing the cost of cigarettes is the single most important factor in preventing our young children and teen-agers from taking up this addictive and potentially deadly habit," Holden said. "I will do whatever I can to support this measure that can save the lives of so many."
The proposal calls for the tax on packs of cigarettes to rise by 55 cents, to 72 cents. At 17 cents a pack, Missouri now has one of the lowest cigarette taxes in the country.
The measure, which also would place a 20 percent tax on other forms of tobacco, would raise an estimated $342.6 million a year for health care and other programs.
The proposal would devote 29 percent of the revenue to emergency medical and trauma services, 43 percent to health care and prescription drug coverage for senior citizens, and 14 percent for life sciences research. Seven percent would go for early childhood care and education, and another 7 percent toward anti-smoking initiatives.
When Blunt's office ruled that supporters were 673 signatures short in the 2nd Congressional District, the anti-smoking coalition sued, contending that it had collected more than enough valid signatures from registered voters to put the measure on the ballot. The group blamed Blunt's office for providing inaccurate voter registration data against which supporters verified signatures.
Supporters of the measure also said officials in some counties invalidated signatures they could not read, and there was no process for campaigners to challenge those decisions.
"There have been several problems with the process," Ketcher said.
Blunt's office ultimately agreed with supporters that 601 disqualified signatures were, in fact, from registered voters. However, that still left the campaign 72 names short.
In court Monday, Citizens for a Healthy Missouri put on the witness stand a handwriting expert who testified that 116 signatures that had been invalidated matched the signatures on cards maintained by the voters' respective counties.
Terry Jarrett, general counsel for Blunt's office, said the secretary of state had not decided whether to appeal the ruling.
In response to criticism of the state's voter registration records, Jarrett said Blunt's office must rely on counties to update their information. People die or are convicted of felonies every day, Jarrett said, and voter registration lists are in constant flux.
Jarrett said Blunt, who is a "big believer in the initiative process," is considering legislative proposals to address shortcomings in the system.
Blunt's office on Monday also reached an agreement with the Missouri State Council of Firefighters over a ballot initiative to give firefighters collective bargaining rights.
The secretary of state earlier had ruled that the firefighters group was 223 signatures short of putting the measure on the Nov. 5 ballot. But the group presented evidence that local election officials failed to count 293 signatures, persuading Blunt to place the measure before voters.
In a news release, Blunt commended the firefighters for their diligence.
"The number of signatures incorrectly disallowed at the local level is less than two-tenths of 1 percent of the total signatures," Blunt said. "But it made all the difference, because this was such a close case."
Then we'll just have to stop the tax from passing.
I've alreday got a newsletter written up to be distributed. I just need to print, copy, and staple it together.
I'll be doing that tonight.
or even, "put your hands up and GIVE ME THE MONEY!"
But this tax is not ending up in the state coffers like the lawmakers had hoped. They didn’t realize that we aren’t all sheeple out here and we DO think for ourselves.
The higher taxes on smokers is just forcing the smoker to the Internet, the Reservations or by rolling our own. The lawmakers are scratching their heads trying to figure out how to further CONTROL us and our money.
They just couldn't wait to spend the court awarded "lottery winnings" as it was paid out - they threw half of it away so they could spend now.
In Kansas, you can be arrested for having 200 untaxed cigarettes in your possesion at any time.
KS Smokers - Make sure you smoke one as soon as that carton arrives from the reservation so you only have 199!
But they are probably working on closing any loopholes.
So many Canadians bypassed the Canadian tax hike a few years ago, that the tax increase was repealed.
Hopefully we're gonna UNELECT his widder.
Yes, there are.
They'll be working on the internet vendors next. Wait and see.
It also makes it illegal to operate sting operations using underage people.
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