Tobacco Measures on the 2006 Ballot

Tobacco Measures on the 2006 Ballot

November 12, 2006

Background

Tobacco issues have made frequent appearances on statewide ballots since the early 1990s. Most of the tobacco-related measures fall into three categories: increases in tobacco taxes, smoking bans, and more recently, proposals to dedicate revenues from the tobacco settlement.

What’s on the ballot this year?

Eight states will consider a total of 12 tobacco-related questions on November 7. All of these measures follow the same three general themes of the past fifteen years – tax increases, smoking bans, and dedications of tobacco settlement revenue.

Tobacco Measures on the 2006 Ballot

State

Measure #

Topic Area

Type
(a)

CA/S
(b)

Pass/Fail

Arizona

Prop. 201

Smoking ban; cigarette tax increase

I

S

Pass (54.8%)

Arizona

Prop. 203

Tobacco tax increase; funds early childhood development & health programs

I

S

Pass (53.2%)

Arizona

Prop. 206

Smoking ban

I

S

Fail (42.7%)

California

Prop. 86

Tobacco tax increase; funds health care programs

I

CA/S

Fail (48.3%)

Florida

Amendment 4

Dedicates 15% of tobacco settlement revenues to tobacco education & prevention program

I

CA

Pass (60.9%)

Idaho

SJR 107

Dedicates tobacco settlement revenue

L

CA

Pass (58.1%)

Louisiana

Amendment 1 (c)

20% of tobacco securitization to be deposited in Coastal Protection & Restoration Fund

L

CA

Pass (82%)

Missouri

Amendment 3

Tobacco tax increase for health

I

CA

Fail (48.6%)

Nevada

Question 4

Smoking ban

I

S

Fail (48%)

Nevada

Question 5

Smoking ban

I

S

Pass (53.9%)

Ohio

Issue 4

Smoking ban

I

CA

Fail (35.8%)

Ohio

Issue 5

Smoking ban

I

S

Pass (58.2%)

South Dakota

Measure 2

Tobacco tax increase; most revenue goes to state general fund

I

S

Pass (60.8%)

a) Type: L = legislative referendum
               I = citizen-initiated
b)  CA = constitutional amendment
     S = statutory
c)  on the September 30 primary ballot

Smoking Bans

Three states will consider proposals to ban smoking in public places this year: Arizona, Nevada and Ohio. And in all three, there are two competing proposals on the ballot. In all three cases, one of the proposed bans is stricter, and is sponsored by health care organizations. The other proposed ban contains more exceptions, and is sponsored by industry organizations, including casinos, hotels, restaurants, and tobacco companies (the particular organizations involved vary by state). Also in all three states, the ban sponsored by health care interests permits more restrictive existing local ordinances to remain in place, while the industry ban would invalidate local ordinances and transfer responsibility and authority for regulating smoking to the state.

Tobacco Tax Increases

Four states will consider increasing tobacco taxes this year.

Arizona voters will consider two proposals to increase tobacco taxes. One would generate funds for early childhood health and development programs. Also, the stricter proposed smoking ban includes a tobacco tax increase to fund education and enforcement of the ban. None of the other proposed smoking bans include tax increases.

Proposed tobacco tax increases in California and Missouri would fund various health care programs. Voters in both states have rejected similar proposals in past elections, but California voters approved a tobacco tax increase for early childhood development programs in 1998 and again in 2000.

The majority of the revenue from the proposed tobacco tax increase in South Dakota would go into the state’s general fund. Depending on how much revenue the increase generated, some funds might go to tobacco prevention, property tax reduction, education enhancement and health care.

Dedication of Tobacco Settlement Revenues

Two states – Florida and Idaho – will consider measures dedicating portions of tobacco settlement revenues this year. Florida’s proposal would dedicate 15% of the settlement money to a tobacco education and prevention program begining with 2005 payments and adjusted annually for inflation. Idaho’s proposal would create a new permanent endowment fund which would receive 80% of the settlement revenues each year, with the remaining 20% going into the existing Idaho Millennium Fund.

How does this compare to previous years?

Smoking Bans

To date, proposed smoking bans have appeared on the ballot in three states; voters in two of the three approved them.

In 1994 and 1978, California voters rejected a proposed statewide smoking ban.
In 2002, Florida voters approved an initiative that created a statewide smoking ban in indoor workplaces.
In 2005, Washington voters agreed to expand their existing smoking ban and remove exceptions.

Tobacco Tax Increases

Since 1990, there have been at least 14 statewide votes on proposals to increase tobacco taxes. The tax increases most often benefit health care programs, and occasionally also education. Eleven of these proposals were passed, and no proposed tobacco tax increase has failed to pass since 1994.

A 1990 initiative to increase tobacco taxes in Montana failed to pass.
In 1992, Massachusetts voters approved a tobacco tax increase that funded health programs related to tobacco use.
In 1994, Arizona voters passed a tobacco tax increase to fund health care for the indigent and low income children. California voters rejected an initiative that would have raised tobacco taxes (among other taxes) to create a statewide health services system. Colorado voters rejected a tobacco tax increase for health care programs.
In 1996, Oregon voters approved an initiative increasing tobacco taxes to fund health care programs.
In 1998, California voters passed Proposition 10, a tobacco tax increase to fund early childhood development programs.
In 2000, California voters declined an opportunity to repeal Proposition 10, a tobacco tax increased passed in the 1998 election.
In 2001, Washington voters approved an additional tobacco tax to expand health care services for low-income residents.
In 2002, Arizona voters passed a second tobacco tax increase to fund health care programs. Missouri voters rejected a similar measure in 2002. Oregon voters approved a legislative proposal to increase tobacco taxes to pay for the Oregon Health Plan.
In 2004, Colorado, Montana and Oklahoma voters passed a tobacco tax increase to fund health care programs.

Tobacco Settlement Revenues

In the five years following the settlement of the 1998 settlement of a lawsuit by 46 states against tobacco manufacturers, at least 11 states saw ballot measures proposing that the revenues from the settlement be dedicated to particular spending programs, most often health care.

In 1999, Louisiana voters approved a legislative proposal to create a trust fund for tobacco settlement revenues, with an annual appropriation from the fund to K-12 education.
In 2000, Arizona, Arkansas, Montana and Oklahoma voters passed measures dedicating their state’s share of the tobacco settlement revenues to health care programs. Oregon voters rejected a similar proposal in 2000. Utah voters agreed that the funds should go into the state’s general fund.
In 2001, South Dakota voters approved a legislative proposal to create an Education Enhancement Fund using the state’s tobacco settlement revenues.
In 2002, Michigan voters rejected an initiative that proposed to allocate the state’s share of tobacco settlement revenues to various health care programs. Montana voters passed a second initiative on this subject, this time dedicating the funds to smoking prevention programs and health insurance for the uninsured.
In 2003, Louisiana voters agreed to direct a portion of their state’s tobacco settlement revenues into the newly created Coastal Restoration Fund.