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 .

The Huntington Herald Dispatch is reporting that Cabell Circuit Judge Jane Hustead this afternoon dismissed a temporary injunction on the Cabell County ban on smoking in bars and gambling parlors.

The impact of this ruling is that the new clean indoor air regulation takes effect immediately in Cabell County.

Click here to read the full story from the front page of today’s Charleston Gazette.

The West Virginia Division of Tobacco Prevention (DTP) has begun notifying program grantees around the state of cuts in program funding which will occur in the wake of the budget cut proposed by Governor Manchin to the tobacco education and prevention line item and currently under consideration by the legislature .

According to an email sent to DTP grant subrecipients on Monday “…the Division of Tobacco Prevention is looking at a significant reduction for SFY11 of our State tobacco education and prevention program funding. We also will not have the available the planned carry over funds that we have enjoyed in the past few years. 

” These factors, plus other potential, anticipated reductions in available tobacco prevention funding will cause at minimum a projected 30 percent reduction (as of today) in DTP funding from this to next state fiscal year.”

This reduction in program grants is significantly higher that the 11.5% overall cut proposed by the Administration and, from the programs known to have been notified yesterday, some projects will be completely eliminated.

This underscores the need to continue to ask legislators to reject the reduction in the tobacco education and prevention funding level as proposed by Governor Manchin. Contact your House of Delegate and Senate members immediately and ask that they restore the tobacco prevention funding to at least the FY2010 level.

Also, call Governor Manchin at 1-888-438-2731 and ask him to stop the cuts to existing tobacco prevention, education and cessation programs!

The Coalition for a Tobacco Free West Virginia has asked the Department of Health and Human Resources for clarification of these proposed cuts and if some of the reductions in grants comes from a change in direction or utilization of tobacco prevention funds.

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.

Introduced in the West Virginia House of Delegates today was HB4507 which would allow any person or business to appeal decisions of local boards of health to the county commission. The legislation, as proposed, is retroactive and would place all actions made by West Virginia’s 49 boards of health for the PAST THREE YEARS - as well as all future actions - in jeopordy.

This is the latest of a number of bills aimed at weakening local boards of health and politicizing the decisions they make.

The obvious target of this legislation are the many clean indoor air regulations put in place over the past several years. The lead sponsor of the bill, Delegate Doug Reynolds, has been a vocal opponent of the new clean indoor air regulation passed in Cabell County last month. This bill, however, would apply to ALL DECISIONS AND ACTIONS of local boards of health and would place special interests above the interest of protecting public health.

Other sponsors of this legislation are Delegates Border, Skaff, Sobonya, C. Miller, D. Walker, Campbell, Spencer, Poore, Hunt and Manchin.

The bill is single referenced to the House Judiciary Committee and could move very quickly.

 Time is critical in contacting members of this committee to urge their REJECTION of this dangerous and ill-conceived legislation.

Members of the Judiciary Committee and contact information:

Delegate Miley - Chair - (304) 340-3252

Delegate Hunt - Vice-Chair - (304) 340-3392

Delegate Ellem - Minority Chair - (304) 340-3394

Delegate Lane - Minority Vice-Chair - (304) 340-3275

Delegate Barker - (304) 340-3149

Delegate Brown - (304) 340-3106 

Delegate Caputo -  (304) 340-3249

Delegate Ferro - (304) 340-3111

Delegate Fleischauer - (304) 340-3169

Delegate Frazier - (304) 340-3396 

Delegate Hutchins - (304) 340-3270

Delegate Longstreth - (304) 340-3124 

Delegate Michael - (304) 340-3340

Delegate Moore - (304) 340-3189 

Delegate Ross - (304) 340-3145

Delegate Shook - (304) 340-3173

Delegate Skaff - (304) 340-3362 

Delegate Susman - (304) 340-3183

Delegate Wells - (304) 340-3287

Delegate Wooton - (304) 340-3164

Delegate Hamilton - (304) 340-3167

Delegate Overington - (304) 340-3148

Delegate Schadler - (304) 340-3191

Delegate Schoen - (304) 340-3141

Delegate Sobonya - (304) 340-3175

Call members of this committee IMMEDIATELY and express your opposition to HB 4507!

The budget proposed by Governor Manchin and currently under consideration by the West Virginia Legislature would reduce tobacco prevention and education funding by $656,318 or a whopping 11.5%!

A cut of this magnitude can only result in a reduction of tobacco prevention programming in the state. While these are indeed tough budget times, it makes no sense to cut a program that is saving lives and healthcare dollars. Currently West Virginians pay $690 million annually in health care costs directly caused by smoking. That is a severe burden on the state’s economy, which will only get worse if the state cuts funding for programs proven to prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit.

Even before this latest proposal, West Virginia was falling short in funding tobacco prevention and cessation programs. West Virginia this year is spending $6.9 million on these programs – $5.7 million in state funds and a $1.2 million federal grant. This total is less than a quarter of the $27.8 million recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Governor Manchin has proposed cutting funding by $656,318.

These resources are critical to reducing tobacco’s devastating toll in West Virginia. West Virginia currently has the highest adult smoking rate in the nation at 26.6 percent. In addition, 27.6 percent of high school students smoke, and 2,400 more kids become regular smokers every year. Each year, tobacco use claims 3,800 lives in West Virginia.

This cut is currently under consideration of the House and Senate Finance Committees and they need to hear from tobacco control advocates loud and clear that these cuts are short-sighted and will only serve to weaken West Virginia’s already insufficient tobacco prevention efforts.

Contact your members on the House Finance Committee and Senate Finance Committee right away and urge them to OPPOSE any budget cut to tobacco prevention and education programs.

Cuirrently under consideration by the House Health and Human Resources Committee is HB-2746 which would increase the tobacco excise tax by raising the tax on cigarettes by 65 cents per pack and increasing the rate on other tobacco products from 7% of the wholesale price to 14% of the wholesale price.

Higher taxes produce a decrease in the number of children who smoke. On this point even the public health advocates and the tobacco industry agree. Industry documents show that Philip Morris, a corporate giant in the tobacco industry, believes that when taxes are raised the overall number of people who use tobacco products decreases. Another large tobacco company, RJ Reynolds, has data that shows that if tobacco prices were increased by 10 percent then the number of teenage smokers would decrease by 11.9 percent.

According to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, increasing West Virginia excise tax would mean 12,400 children alive today will prevented from becoming adult smokers.

In addition to preventing children from starting using tobacco a tobacco tax increase, as proposed in this legislation, would result in 8,500 current adult smokers quitting and and would prevent 2,700 smoking-affected births.

This proposed tax increase would generate nearly $100 million in new revenue and realize the state nearly $300 million in long-term health savings.

Contact members of the House Health and Human Resources Committee and urge their strong support on HB-2746. Contact information for members of this committee is shown below. Please phone and email legislators now!

Delegate Don Perdue – Chair
(304) 340-3269
dperdue@mail.wvnet.edu

Delegate Hatfield - Vice-Chair
(304) 340-3140
hatfield@mail.wvnet.edu

Delegate Border - Minority Chair
(304) 340-3136
bordel@mail.wvnet.edu

Delegate Miller, J. –
(304) 340-3147
jonathan@delegatejmiller.com

Delegate Campbell
(304) 340-3230
tom.campbell@wvhouse.gov

Delegate Eldridge
(304) 340-3174
jeffeldridge96@yahoo.com

Delegate Fleischauer
(304) 340-3169
barbaraf@mail.wvnet.edu

Delegate Lawrence
(304) 340-3152
lawrencefordelegate@hotmail.com

Delegate Manypenny
(304) 340-3139
mmany@mail.wvnet.edu

Delegate Marshall
(304) 340-3900
chmarsh@mail.wvnet.edu

Delegate Moore
(304) 340-3189
cmoore@mail.wvnet.edu

Delegate Moye
(304) 340-3162
rickymoye@wvhouse.gov

Delegate Perry
(304) 340-3117
d.perry@wvhouse.gov

Delegate Phillips
(304) 340-3163
lgphill@mail.wvnet.edu

Delegate Poling, D.
(304) 340-3137
dan.poling@wvhouse.gov

Delegate Rodighiero
(304) 340-3154
rrodigh@mail.wvnet.edu

Delegate Spencer
(304) 340-3218
delspencer@aol.com

Delegate Staggers
(304) 340-3197
margaret.staggers@wvhouse.gov

Delegate Susman
(304) 340-3183
ssusman@mail.wvnet.edu

Delegate Wooton
(304) 340-3164
wrwooton@mail.wvnet.edu

Delegate Andes
(304) 340-3121
troy.andes@wvhouse.gov

Delegate Carmichael
(304) 340-3115
mcarmich@mail.wvnet.edu

Delegate Lane
(304) 340-3275
patrick.lane@wvhouse.gov

Delegate Miller, C.
(304) 340-3176
carol.miller@wvhouse.gov

Delegate Rowan
(304) 340-3157
ruth.rowan@wvhouse.gov

The Cabell-Huntington Board of Health today approved the new clean indoor regulation which will extend smoking prohibitions to bars and gambling parlours. Cabell County now joins 18 other counties in our state with comperehensive smoke free protection.

Approved by a vote of 4-0 the new regulation can be seen here.

Congratulations to the advocates in Cabell County who worked so hard on this and THANK YOU to the Cabell-Huntington Board of Health for taking this important step to advance public health.