75-cent cigarette tax official

Governor Doyle signed the 2009-10 Wisconsin budget yesterday morning, which includes a 75-cent increase in the cigarette tax. The increase will boost Wisconsin's cigarette tax to $2.52 per pack, making it the 5th highest in the nation. For more information on the increase, check out our previous post.

The tax will go into effect on September 1, 2009.

Budget passes Assembly, headed for governor's desk Monday morning

On Friday night the State Assembly passed the budget, unchanged from the conference committee and Senate version, 51-46. (Democrats Bob Ziegelbauer and Peggy Krusick voted against, while independent Jeff Wood voted for; republicans Pat Strachota and Don Friske were absent.)

The governor is expected to sign the budget on Monday at 11 a.m. at the governor's residence.

Senate approves conference committee report with additional $5 million cut to tobacco prevention funding

The Senate just voted to approve the conference committee report - which means their vote includes the additional $5 million cut to tobacco prevention - now the budget goes back to the Assembly, which can't officially meet until about 8:30 p.m. tonight (Friday).

Senate vote count: 17-15
Republicans plus Sen. Sullivan (D-Wauwatosa) voted against.

Take Action: Call your state representative and ask him or her to restore the money that was pulled out of tobacco prevention in the conference committee budget. Look up your representative's contact information here.

UNBELIEVABLE; UNACCEPTABLE

Just got word that the conference committee on the state budget included an additional $5 million cut to the Tobacco Prevention and Control Program over the next biennium.

It seems some state legislators truly want to gut tobacco prevention efforts in Wisconsin.

If the cut goes through as proposed (representatives could vote as early as 8:30 p.m. Friday) Wisconsin will have a program operating on just 1/10th of the CDC's recommended budget.

State programs are being cut across the board, but more to the tune of 5%. We're talking about a 55% cut to tobacco prevention.

Call your state senator and state representative and tell them to restore the money the conference committee pulled out of tobacco prevention funding. Click here for your legislators' contact information.


You can view the Legislative Fiscal Bureau's analysis of the conference committee's budget version here (thanks to WisPolitics for posting this). Scroll to .pdf pages 63-64 (numbered in the document as pages 49-50) and look for #13: Tobacco Use Control Grants.

Pres. Obama signs FDA legislation - watch the video!

Watch President Obama sign the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act below. (Video courtesy of C-SPAN.)