A legislative committee has voted down a proposed hike in Alabama's cigarette tax. The votes kills a major proposal for filling a shortfall in the state's operating budget.
The Ways and Means General Fund Committee narrowly rejected the cigarette tax increase by an 8-7 today.
The bill would have boosted cigarette taxes by 25 cents per pack.
The increase would raise $66 million in revenue. The state general fund is facing a shortfall of $200 million for the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1.
The vote could doom efforts to find substantial new revenue, but lawmakers may try again. The committee is scheduled to meet again this afternoon
Gov. Robert Bentley is meeting with lawmakers at the Alabama Statehouse as he tries to persuade lawmakers to support tax increases.
State health officials say too many Alabama teens are at risk for a potentially cancer-causing virus. APR’s Alex AuBuchon reports, they aren’t receiving vaccines for HPV.
A new national report shows the number of Alabama teenagers vaccinated for human papillomavirus, or HPV, is lagging behind the national average. That’s according to the Alabama Department of Public Health.
39 percent of teenage girls in Alabama have completed the 3-dose vaccine, and 55 percent have gotten at least one dose. That’s not far off the national average.
But just 9 percent of male teenagers have been vaccinated, well below the average nationwide.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says HPV can cause cancer, especially cervical cancer in females. It also causes genital warts.
They advise all children to receive an HPV vaccine between ages 11 and 12.
State lawmakers are back in Montgomery trying to solve the General Fund budget crisis, but one bill would take money away from the fund.
A group of legislators from Mobile and Baldwin Counties are hoping to pass legislation to use half of the billion dollars in BP settlement money currently allocated to the state General Fund for road and infrastructure projects on the Gulf Coast.
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley opposes allocating the settlement to any specific location. He says the money belongs to the state.
Representative Margie Wilcox of Mobile hopes the way she’s worded the bill will change Bentley’s mind.
“We really do want to show the Governor that he ultimately has control of those funds, but do some very great projects in this area that have been on the state books and, due to lack of money, we’ve been unable to complete them.”
Projects funded by the bill include the Mobile I-10 bridge project, Baldwin Beach Express extension and coastal insurance reform.