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• ROLLY: Legislators may not chew or smoke, but they inhale cash from Big Tobacco  

The vast majority of Utah legislators are devout members of the LDS Church, which counsels against the use of tobacco, and the bills they pass often reflect their religious affiliation. But many of these same lawmakers have no compunction about taking money from tobacco companies.

The Altria Group, parent company of the Phillip Morris tobacco conglomerate, just reported to the lieutenant governor's office that it dumped $42,000 into campaign funds this election cycle, covering both 2007 and 2008.

Besides the 31 representatives and eight senators - Republicans and Democrats - who directly benefited, the House Republican Caucus received $2,500, the House Conservative Caucus got $2,500, the House speaker's political action committee got $5,000, the Senate Republican Caucus $5,000, the Salt Lake County Republican Party $3,000, the Utah County Republican Party $2,500, the Utah Republican Party $2,000, the Senate Democratic Caucus $3,000, the House Democratic Caucus $1,500 and Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff $3,000.

Talk about hedging your bets. . . .

All that good corporate cheer may be paying off.

Altria was in the process of buying U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company last legislative session when Rep. Rebecca Lockhart, R-Provo, sponsored a bill to change the way smokeless chewing tobacco was taxed in Utah. Instead of 35 percent of the wholesale price, her bill would tax each can by weight. Since most brands come in 1.2-ounce cans, they all would be taxed the same - 90 cents per can.

That benefited USTC, and its buyer Altria, because they produce Skoal and Copenhagen, the two most popular, and pricey, brands of chewing tobacco. The tax change would reduce the companies' state tax obligation by 15 cents per can, while the cheaper brands made by their competitors would see a tax increase. . . .

Those corporate campaign contributions could pay off in the coming legislative session as well. Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, has proposed a $1.35 tax increase per pack of cigarettes. And you can bet that legislators voting on that bill who took contributions from Big Tobacco will be reminded of past generosities, and perhaps future expressions of gratitude.

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