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· South Carolina
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Jump to full article: WCSC Television (Charleston, SC), 2010-03-18
Intro: Superintendent of Education Jim Rex called on the state Senate Thursday to raise South Carolina's cigarette tax to the national average, saying a 30-cent-per-pack hike approved by the House is "woefully inadequate" for health care and education needs.
Rex proposed moving the tax from 7 cents to $1.34 per pack and splitting the increased revenues between public education and health care. According to Rex, his proposal negates the need for school districts to furlough teachers and would add more than 20,000 health-care related jobs to the state's employment rolls.
The House spending plan would put its extra 30-cents-a-pack increase in a Medicaid reserve account, said Rex in a Thursday press release. He claimed the House budget would also mean schools would see a multi-million dollar reduction.
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