Jump to full article: AP, 2008-07-11
Author: EMILY WAGSTER PETTUS Associated Press Writer
Intro: It's a tried-and-true technique in government: If you've got bad news, release it late Friday afternoon and then leave for the weekend.
Moments before the Mississippi secretary of state's office closed for the weekend, Gov. Haley Barbour filed an 83-page plan to start the process of making cuts in Medicaid, a government health program for the needy.
. . .
House Democratic leaders say they want to consider an increase in cigarette taxes.
House Medicaid Committee Chairman Dirk Dedeaux, D-Perkinston, criticized Barbour for making cuts now rather than allowing lawmakers to do more work on the budget later. He pointed to Barbour's background as a tobacco lobbyist.
"Gov. Haley Barbour would rather cut $375 million out of Medicaid than see one cent in new taxes on cigarettes to be devoted to the program," Dedeaux said Friday. "His attempt to tax hospitals instead of cigarettes to pay for Medicaid services is a clear indication of his priorities in health care policy."
. . .
Barbour has said repeatedly that his record as a lobbyist has nothing to do with his opposition to increasing cigarette taxes. He said a group that he appointed to study the state tax structure will release a report late this summer, and he expects the group to recommend increasing Mississippi's cigarette excise tax. At 18 cents a pack, it is one of the lowest tobacco taxes in the nation.
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