Georgia Legislative Watch

State Rep. Ron Stephens wants to increase the cigarette tax by one dollar:

For the first time in five years, state lawmakers are looking at raising the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1.

The additional revenue would go to fund health care programs in Georgia, said Rep. Ron Stephens, a Republican from Savannah sponsoring the legislation.

He announced the legislation at a news conference at the Capitol, flanked by representatives from the American Lung Association, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the American Heart Association and the American Cancer Society.
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The legislation faces an uphill battle.

Stephens’ legislation is HB 1197.

A Senate committee passed a constitutional amendment for what is being called a T-SPLOST, a Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. The T-SPLOST is 1-cent sales tax for county governments to utilize for specific transportation projects. The legislation can be viewed here.