Calif. Health Coalition Reaches Into Deep Pockets To Battle Powerful Tobacco Industry
Billionaire Tom Steyer has donated $1 million so far toward the fight for a $2-per-pack tax on cigarettes. The coalition said Monday it has received enough signatures to get on the Nov. 8 ballot.
Los Angeles Times:
Billionaire-Backed Campaign Launched To Raise California’s Tobacco Tax
A coalition of health groups has launched a new campaign to ask voters in November to increase California's tax on cigarettes by $2 per pack, this time enlisting deep-pocket supporters to counter a tobacco industry that blocked several attempts in the past. Billionaire Tom Steyer, who was the nation’s largest individual political donor in 2014, spending $74 million that year, is leading the campaign for the tobacco tax. He has funneled $1 million into collecting signatures to qualify the measure for the Nov. 8 ballot. (McGreevy, 5/17)
The Associated Press:
Tax Measure Could Cause Financial Jolt To California Smokers
A campaign to raise California's cigarette tax by $2 a pack said Monday it has collected enough signatures to qualify the proposal for the Nov. 8 ballot and raise the prospect of a pocketbook jolt for smokers in the nation's most populous state. (Spagat, 5/17)
