Governor expected to veto cigarette tax

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In March 2010, the South Carolina Senate passed the cigarette tax bill (H.3584) originally passed by the House in April 2009. The bill returned to the House, which amended the legislation and sent it back to the Senate. The Senate now has two options: (1) Concur with the House amendments and send the bill to Governor Sanford or (2) Non-concur with the House amendments, in which case three House members and three Senators will form at conference committee to work out the differences.

The good news is that both chambers have now passed a 50-cent increase, so the bill is locked in at that amount and there can be no further attempts to amend the bill to a lower amount. The bill would dedicate the majority of the revenues to a Medicaid trust fund. Each year, $5 million will be dedicated to the state's tobacco prevention and cessation program and $5 million to the Hollings Cancer Center at the Medical University of South Carolina.

The bad news is that Governor Sanford has repeatedly vowed to veto the cigarette tax increase. Both the House and Senate will both need to override the expected veto by a 2/3 margin for the bill to become a law.

Please visit the Take Action page to send an email to your Representative urging him or her to override the veto. As soon as the House votes to override, you'll see a call to action to your Senator.

Thank you for your support of this life-saving legislation!