Clear the Air

On Tuesday, June 10th, The Coalition for a Tobacco-Free West Virginia and the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids released the findings of a public opinion poll showing the broad support by West Virginia voters for increasing the tobacco tax by $1.00.

Here is video from the press conference featuring Hersha Arnold-Brown of the American Cancer Society, Chuck Hamsher of the American Heart Association, Pete Fisher from the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and Nathan Henry from the Mellman Group who conducted the poll.

For more information, including details of this poll, visit the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free West Virginia website.

Finance Committees in both the House and the Senate have passed out budget bills for FY2011 and there is good news - and bad news - in the proposals for tobacco control.

The House version of the budget restored funding to the tobacco prevention line item to the same level as FY2010 - $5,667,111 - eliminating the 11.5% cuts proposed by Governor Manchin.

However, the Senate kept the cuts advocated by Governor Manchin in his budget proposal and the Senate’s bill would only fund tobacco prevention efforts at $5,010,793.

Over the next few days the two chambers will go about the procedural requirements of appointing budget conferees who will work on hammering out differences between the two versions of the budget bill. Conferees will meet into next week during the extended budget session and, once their work is complete, the full legislature must pass the compromise budget bill to send it to the Governor.

Please contact your House and Senate members requesting that they support the funding of tobacco prevention efforts at NO LESS THAN the FY2010 level .

HB2773 is a bill relating to prohibited access and usage of tobacco products by minors. It increases the monetary penalties for selling tobacco products to minors; and providing that the sale or furnishing of tobacco products to minors may constitute grounds for dismissal as an act of misconduct; clarifying the impact of such a dismissal on the discharged employees’ eligibility to receive unemployment benefits; and increasing the monetary penalties for minors possessing tobacco products.

The bill, if passed by the Senate and signed by the Governor, will amend Sections §16-9A-2 and §16-9A-3 of the Code of West Virginia:

Increasing penalties for any individual who violates any of the provisions of this code are summarized as:

(1) guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined $100 (was $25) for the first offense.

(2) misdemeanor and at least $250 fine (was $100) but not more than $500 (was $200) for a second offense,

(3) misdemeanor and at least $500 fine (was $200) but not more than $750 (was $500) for the third offense,

(4) misdemeanor and at least $1,000 but not more than $5,000 for any subsequent offenses,

(5) Any individual who knowingly and intentionally sells, gives or furnishes or causes to be sold, given or furnished to any person under the age of eighteen years any cigar, cigarette, snuff, chewing tobacco or tobacco product, in any form, is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, for the first offense shall be fined not more than $100; upon conviction thereof for a second or subsequent offense, is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be fined not less than $100 nor more than $500.

(6) Any employer who discovers that his or her employee has sold or furnished tobacco products to minors may dismiss such employee for cause. Any such discharge shall be considered as “gross misconduct” for the purposes of determining the discharged employee’s eligibility for unemployment benefits in accordance with the provisions of section three, article six, chapter twenty-one-a of this code, if the employer has provided the employee with prior written notice in the workplace that such act or acts may result in their termination from employment.

BREAKING NEWS!

Governor Manchin’s proposed budget for FY11 calls for a cut of over 11.5% from the tobacco prevention and education program.

The proposed cut to this program would be $656,318.

More details to come as the Governor and Administrative officials present the budget to the Finance Committees today.

The following tobacco-related bills were introduced today, Wednesday, January 13th, in the West Virginia Legislature:

SB 24 - Forbidding tobacco products’ sale in pharmacies

SB 55 - Granting municipal courts jurisdiction over juveniles violating tobacco use laws

SB 56 - Increasing penalties for underage use or possession of tobacco

HB 2681 - Eliminating the food tax, increasing the tax on nonintoxicating beer, increasing the cigarette tax, increasing the noncigarette tobacco products tax..etc..

HB 2746 - Raising the excise tax on cigarettes and all other tobacco products

HB 2773 - Increasing the monetary penalties for selling tobacco products to minors

HB 2808 - Providing a procedure for removal of county, district or municipal officers

HB 2855 - Permitting the holder of a license to sell nonintoxicating liquors to determine the use or nonuse of tobacco products on the licensees’ premises

HB 2932 - Requiring the approval of board of health rules relating to tobacco use in public or private places

HB 3078 - Reduced Cigarette Ignition Propensity Standard and Fire Prevention Act

All House legislation on this list are carryover bills from the 2009 session. HB 3078, while introduced today, was actually passed in 2009 as a Senate bill.

Bills are listed here for informational purposes only and no endorsement is to be implied. Clear the Air will review bills more in depth as they begin to move. To track these bills yourself visit the West Virginia Legislative website Bill Status page.

Tags: 2009 Session, bills introduced, clean indoor air, tobacco control, tobacco excise tax, West Virigina Legislature

Moments ago the House Political Subdivision Committee passed out HB2932.

This legislation would require the approval of county commissions and, in some cases, city council of local clean indoor air regulations passed by boards of health. This bill is OPPOSED by the American Heart Association, American Lung Association, American Cancer Society and the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free West Virginia as well as other health groups.

The bill now moves to the House Judiciary Committee.

We will post a new action alert listing Judiciary Committee members and contact information later this evening.

Tags: 2009 Session, clean indoor air, Legislative Action

The House Political Subdivision Committee ran out of time and did not take up HB2932. The Committee Chair, Tim Manchin, announced at the end of today’s meeting that the committee will meet again on Thursday at 4 P.M. at which time HB2932 will be taken up.

See the post below for the members of the Political Subdivision Comittee and contact them to OPPOSE HB2932.

Tags: Action Alert, clean indoor air, Legislative Action

Today the West Virginia House of Delegates passed out Committee Substitute for HB2360 which prohibits the sale of cigarettes in anything other than its original factory wrapped packaging and only in packs of no fewer than twenty.

This bill previously had been amended by the House Judiciary Committee to remove all tobacco products other than cigarettes. While the bill has merit by addressing the issue of single cigarette sales the exclusion of other tobacco products from coverage under this legislation is disappointing. This is particularly true as the tobacco industry works to establish new products.

The bill now goes to the West Virginia Senate for consideration.

Tags: tobacco control, West Virginia Legislature, youth access

On Monday, February 23rd, the tobacco tax bill which was recommended by an interim committee will be introduced in the West Virginia House of Delegates. The bill will call for a 65 cent per pack increase in the excise tax on cigarettes and a raise from 7 percent of the wholesale price to 14 percent for all other tobacco products.

The proposed legislation will be referred to the Health and Human Resources Committee and then to Finance.

The tax legislation is part of a package of bills recommended by Select Committee D after a year-long study of health care in West Virginia. Passage of the tax is essential to funding other proposed pieces of this package.

More importantly, raising the tobacco excise tax in West Virginia will reduce the number of young people who begin using tobacco products and will serve as a huge incentive for current tobacco users to quit. Research shows an overall 4 percent reduction in tobacco use with every ten percent increase in the price of the product.

Supporters of this bill should contact House members on Monday by telephone urging their support of the tobacco tax legislation (HB2746). You can identify your members and their Capitol phone number by entering your zip code here. Legislators need to hear there is a large amount of grassroots support to provide this important legislation the momentum it will need to be considered.

Please make your phone call today - even if you do not personally reach your legislators leave them a message requesting that they support the tobacco tax bill (HB2746).

Tags: 2009 Session, Action Alert, tobacco tax, West Virginia Legislature