POLITICS: The Inland lawmaker jokes that California can't afford to discourage smoking.
Jump to full article: Riverside (CA) Press-Enterprise, 2002-07-26
Author: ROBERT T. GARRETT / THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE
Intro: Light up another cigarette. California's counting on you.
The state is so addicted to tobacco-tax revenue, a Riverside lawmaker says, that California can't afford to discourage smoking -- or let anyone else do so.
On Thursday, Senate Republican Whip Ray Haynes unveiled a resolution that would discourage California from supporting anti-smoking efforts, such as the Great American Smokeout held each November.
"I've never smoked in my life and I'm truly sorry about that, because . . . I'm not paying taxes for programs for kids that save their lives," Haynes jokingly said. "This is sort of a tongue-in-cheek reference to all of the absurd things being said in the Capitol right now" about the state budget.
However, anti-smoking groups didn't see much humor in Haynes' Senate Concurrent Resolution 97, which he vowed to introduce when the Senate reconvenes on Aug. 5. . .
"If tobacco use is stopped for one day, the state could lose $3 million in revenue," it says. That's enough money to pay for health insurance for 3,000 children for a year, the resolution says.
Haynes said he wanted to turn Democrats' logic on its head.
"Three thousand kids losing their health care, in the eyes of my left-wing friends in the Legislature, means kids are going to die everywhere," he said. "So how can we stop smoking if kids are going to die?"
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Three thousand kids losing their health care, in the eyes of my left-wing friends in the Legislature, means kids are going to die everywhere [if cigarette tax revenue ends due to smokers quitting]. So how can we stop smoking if kids are going to die?
California Senate Republican Whip Ray Haynes, who has unveiled a resolution (SCR 97) that would discourage California from supporting anti-smoking efforts. GARRETT, R.
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