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September 25 , 2006

Legislative Scorecard

No one could have predicted that NATO and its members would compile a legislative record this year exceeding the 82 percent success rate achieved in 2005. However, through the end of June, NATO’s 2006 legislative win-loss record stands at 90 wins and only 10 losses with 16 tobacco bills still pending in several states. That’s a 90 percent success rate that could climb even higher if those bills still pending are also defeated.

Legislative victories on tobacco issues do not come easily and there may be as many as five states with tobacco-related questions for citizens to vote on in the November general elections. Below is a legislative box score listing the outcome of tax bills and smoking bans in various states:

Tax Bills Defeated in 15 States

Taxes Passed in 4 States

Smoking Bans Defeated in 15 States

Smoking Restrictions Passed in 6 States

*Smoking allowed in tobacco stores

**Smoking allowed in bars and tobacco stores

Besides tax increases and smoking restrictions, NATO helped defeat flavored tobacco bans in Hawaii, Kansas, and West Virginia and was successful in lobbying against legal age increase bills in Nebraska and South Carolina.

State Ballot Questions

The anti-tobacco advocates are using a new strategy to try and enact cigarette and tobacco tax increases and smoking bans. Rather than lobbying state legislators to pass a bill, these anti-tobacco groups are gathering signatures on initiative petitions to have a question placed on the upcoming November general election ballot. Almost half of the states allow this kind of procedure to pass a law by having citizens directly vote on the question.

Currently, there are initiative petitions pending in five states that could have ballot questions on increasing cigarette taxes, raising tobacco taxes, restricting smoking, or a combination of these issues.

Arizona

One ballot question would ban smoking in all indoor public areas and places and increase the cigarette tax by two cents per pack. A competing initiative question (supported by NATO and its Arizona members) would allow smoking in bars, the bar area of restaurants, private clubs, and tobacco stores. A third question would increase the cigarette tax by 80 cents per pack and raise the tax on OTP products as well.

California

The ballot question in California would raise the cigarette tax by $2.60 per pack with a proportionate increase in the tax on other tobacco products including cigars, pipe tobacco, and smokeless tobacco.

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Missouri

Both cigarette taxes and other tobacco products taxes would be higher under the proposed ballot question for Missouri. The cigarette tax would be raised by 80 cents per pack and the OTP tax rate would be increased by another 20 percent.

Ohio

Two different smoking restriction questions may appear on the ballot. One question supported by anti-tobacco groups would ban smoking in all public places and hospitality establishments. A second question supported by a hospitality coalition, including NATO, would allow smoking in bars, private clubs, bingo halls, and tobacco stores.

South Dakota

The ballot question in South Dakota would raise the cigarette tax by $1.00 per pack and also increase the tax on other tobacco products by a proportionate amount.

NATO’s Actions on Ballot Questions

NATO is mapping out a strategy to help its retail store members and their customers defeat these proposed ballot questions. In Arizona and Ohio, NATO joined forces with hospitality coalitions that were circulating competing petitions to allow smoking in certain hospitality establishments (like bars and private clubs) as well as tobacco stores. This means that voters in these two states should have two questions on the same ballot (one banning smoking and the other allowing smoking in various businesses). In addition, NATO will respond to all of these ballot questions with the following efforts:

• Coordinating voter education efforts with major tobacco companies that launch a media campaign in these states.

• Providing retailers with voter alerts to pass out to customers so they understand how to vote on each ballot question.

• Submitting long commentary letters-to-the-editor to the numerous newspapers in each of these states to urge the general public to vote against these unfair tax increase and smoking ban ballot questions.

With the elections set for the November 7, NATO’s efforts will begin in earnest right after the Labor Day holiday in September. This September start date is important because laws require that a certain number of valid signatures of voters must be obtained first before the question is certified for the state’s election ballot.

Welcome

NATO welcomes new manufacturer and distributor members that recently joined NATO, including Alliance One Specialty Products, Eagle Distributors, K, T & G, U.S.A., Patriot Tobacco Company, and S & M Brands.•

Thomas Briant is executive director of the National Association of Tobacco Outlets. NATO’s toll free number is 1-866-869-8888 and the association’s web site address is www.natocentral.org.•