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• House, Senate pass tax bills 

With no votes to spare, the House passed one of the pillars of Gov. Mike Beebe’s legislative package Tuesday, a tobacco tax increase to raise nearly $86 million to fund a statewide trauma center and other health care programs.

The Senate easily passed the other, a 1-cent reduction in the state sales tax on groceries.

The House vote for House Bill 1204 was 75-24, exactly the three-fourths majority needed in the House and Senate to raise the state cigarette tax by 56 cents a pack and increase the levy on smokeless tobacco products.

The tax increase would raise $85.4 million a year, according to its sponsors.

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