Missouri voters could be asked next year to raise the state's taxes on cigarettes and other tobacco products, to provide more money for early childhood education, transportation needs or state government's general revenue fund.
Through last week, Secretary of State Jason Kander's office has approved 40 initiative petition proposals for circulation among the state's registered voters - including eight different suggestions to raise Missouri's tobacco taxes.
All eight proposals would change current state law - so, if any of them are signed by registered voters in at least six of the state's eight congressional districts, that are equal to at least 5 percent of the number of voters who cast ballots for governor in 2012 - the proposed law change would be placed on the Nov. 8, 2016, general election ballot.
That's different from proposed constitutional changes, require signatures from at least 8 percent of the voters.
Two of the petitions, sponsored by the Missouri Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Stores Association (MPCA), would raise the state's cigarette tax by 23 cents (per pack of 20) over the next six years - 13 cents on Jan. 1, 2017, another 5 cents on Jan. 1, 2019, and a second 5-cent gain on Jan. 1, 2021.
One of the MPCA petitions would put that additional money - estimated between $95 million and $103 million a year after the tax is fully phased in - toward state highway and bridge needs.
The other petition would send that additional money into the general revenue fund, for use as lawmakers see fit.
The other six petitions targeting tobacco taxes were submitted on behalf of the group "Raise Your Hand for Kids," which proposes a 50-cent-per-pack cigarette tax increase, and would use the additional money for grants to early childhood education programs around the state, by creating a new "Early Childhood Health and Education Trust Fund."
All eight of the approved petitions also would raise the state's tax on other tobacco products by 5 percent.
Linda Rallo, interim director of the Raise Your Hand group, said they also have submitted other petitions to Kander's office, that have not, yet, been certified for circulation.
Of the half-dozen that could be circulated, four would raise the tax over a six-year period - like the MPCA proposals - with increases in 2017, 2019 and 2021.
The other two would make the 50-cent tax increase effective all at once, on Jan. 1, 2017.
And half of the six also would make changes to provisions of the Master Tobacco Settlement and how money from it is distributed.
Rallo said Raise Your Hand for Kids has "a strong grassroots coalition assembled and favorable public support for early childhood health and education. Because we have been working at this for nearly two years, we are confident in our ability to gather the required number of valid signatures," for whichever petition version they finally decide to ask Missouri voters to support.
"We will wait for the Secretary of State to certify all of our petitions and then choose the version that gives us the best chance of winning at the ballot box in November 2016," Rallo said.
Submitting different versions of a petition is more than just a political game. State law requires supporters to submit a complete petition form for each idea they have, whether it's raising the tax in one year or spreading a tax increase over several years.
Ron Leone, MPCA executive director, noted his group submitted two "almost identical versions of an initiative petition that allows the people to vote on a 135 percent cigarette tax increase and a 50 percent tax increase on other tobacco products (OTP). The only difference is where the money goes."
Like the Raise Your Hand group, Leone said the MPCA hasn't made a final decision on which idea it will ask voters to support.
But the association announced Friday it had "taken additional steps to advance their initiative petition that allows the people to vote on (tobacco tax increases) to help fund transportation infrastructure."
Leone noted their proposed increases would generate new funds "estimated to be $800 to $900 million over just the first 10 years."
For either campaign, time is beginning to be tight.
All completed petitions must be returned to the secretary of state no later than Sunday afternoon, May 8 - six months before the general election.
Petition circulators always seek more than the minimum number of required signatures, because the secretary of state has county clerks check the petitions to make sure that the signatures actually are from properly registered voters.
"Gathering sufficient legitimate signatures in a timely manner to get a proposal on the ballot is always complicated, time-consuming and expensive," Leone said.
"The potential number of proposals competing for signatures will make that process even more difficult to navigate.
"However, MPCA believes that more than enough registered voters will enthusiastically support our proposal and sign our petition."
Both of the MPCA proposals include language that would cancel their 23-cent tax increase if any other proposed tobacco tax change is put on either a statewide or local ballot.
Leone explained in an Aug. 17 news release: "This means the new initiative petition group would be starting from the current tax of 17 cents per pack, and not 40 cents per pack, and from 10 percent, not 15 percent, on other tobacco products."
Two of the six Raise Your Hand proposals have a similar proposal.
They would "suspend" the 50-cent tax increase by the amount of any proposed new increase so that, even if voters approved a newer change than the current proposals, the tax increase would be zero from the newer proposal.
Although the two groups target tobacco taxes for an increase, they clearly have different goals.
Noting that Missouri voters have opposed three previous tobacco tax increase proposals - in 2002, 2006 and 2012 - Leone said "MPCA is confident that the voters will once again reject the 300 percent to 600 percent tax increases being considered by the early childhood education groups.
"In contrast, MPCA firmly believes that the voters will support our proposal which is a reasonable and fair, but still substantial, 135 percent tobacco tax increase."
Rallo told the News Tribune: "Raise Your Hand for Kids is asking for a reasonable increase in the state's tobacco tax, which is currently the lowest in the nation.
"Missouri has some of the highest rates of smoking for teens and pregnant women. Our state also ranks near the bottom in early education investment.
"We believe our initiative will address the negative health impacts associated with tobacco use and improve outcomes for children and families, returning a double dividend to Missouri taxpayers."
State Cigarette Excise Tax Rates
(Missouri and neighboring states shown in CAPS)
- 1 (LOWEST) $0.17 MISSOURI
- 2 $0.30 Virginia
- 3 $0.37 Georgia
- 4 $0.44 North Dakota
- 5 $0.45 North Carolina
- 6 $0.55 West Virginia
- 7 (tie) $0.57 Idaho
- (tie) $0.57 South Carolina
- 9 (tie) $0.60 KENTUCKY
- (tie) $0.60 Wyoming
- 11 $0.62 TENNESSEE
- 12 $0.64 NEBRASKA
- 13 $0.675 Alabama
- 14 $0.68 Mississippi
- 15 $0.84 Colorado
- 16 $0.86 Louisiana
- 17 $0.87 California
- 18 $0.995 Indiana
- 19 $1.03 OKLAHOMA
- 20 $1.15 ARKANSAS
- 21 $1.29 KANSAS
- 22 $1.31 Oregon
- 23 $1.339 Florida
- 24 $1.36 IOWA
- 25 $1.41 Texas
- 26 $1.53 South Dakota
- STATES' AVG. $1.60
- 27 (tie) $1.60 Delaware
- 27 (tie) $1.60 Ohio
- 27 (tie) $1.60 Pennsylvania
- 30 $1.66 New Mexico
- 31 (tie) $1.70 Montana
- 31 (tie) $1.70 Utah
- 33 $1.78 New Hampshire
- 34 $1,80 Nevada
- 35 $1.98 ILLINOIS
- 36 (tie) $2.00 Alaska
- 36 (tie) $2.00 Arizona
- 36 (tie) $2.00 Maine
- 36 (tie) $2.00 Maryland
- 36 (tie) $2.00 Michigan
- 41 $2.50 Washington, DC
- 42 $2.52 Wisconsin
- 43 $2.70 New Jersey
- 44 $2.90 Minnesota
- 45 $3.025 Washington
- 46 $3.08 Vermont
- 47 $3.20 Hawaii
- 48 $3.51 Massachusetts
- 49 $3.65 Connecticut
- 50 $3.75 Rhode Island
- 51 (Highest) $4.35 New York
Source: Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids