Tobacco.org

Burns: Breathe life into tobacco tax  

As the new year unfolds, Georgia citizens are wondering how the new leadership in the Georgia Legislature will do this session.

The timing of former House Speaker Glenn Richardson's scandal is unfortunate, as lawmakers prepare to handle a myriad of issues. One of the most important is Georgia's $1.3 billion budget shortfall that gets worse every day. . . .

With new leaders poised to take over in the House, there is an opportunity to move Stephens' bill, House Bill 39. The legislature should pass the additional cigarette tax that is supported by 75 percent of Georgia voters.

Does it really make more sense to continue to cut money for education, health care and transportation than to increase Georgia's tobacco tax towards the national average? Kids need teachers, not cheap cigarettes.

Hopefully, the new Republican leadership will answer these tough questions by listening to the voters, not by catering to lobbyists for big tobacco. According to a popular axiom, those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. Unfortunately, such a failure by the new GOP leadership would come at a steep cost.

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