The Missouri Students Association Senate passed a bill Wednesday in support of a higher cigarette tax in Missouri. The bill supported using the funds from the higher tax for state education.
The MSA bill supports legislation in the Missouri House of Representatives that would increase the state cigarette tax from 17 cents to 89 cents, generating $400 million in revenue that would go to Missouri education.
The bill was debated on the floor, with about 45 minutes of discussion among senators before a motion to vote was approved.
The bill’s author David Vaughn spoke first, highlighting statistics included in the legislation. Missouri currently has the lowest tobacco tax in the country at 17 cents, well below the national average of $1.46.
“There’s really nothing redeeming about having the lowest cigarette tax in the country,” he said.
The increased cigarette tax would put Missouri right in the middle of cigarette taxes of bordering states. Of the eight states that border Missouri, four would have a higher cigarette tax and four would have a lower cigarette tax.
Vaughn also said the bill was in line with MU’s smoke-free policy, which will take effect Jan. 1, 2014.
Senator Ben Bolin spoke against the bill, citing the tax would give government the power to make decisions for citizens.
“All it will do is continue for us to choose what’s wrong and what’s right in our society,” he said.
Academic Affairs chairman Ben Levin disagreed, saying cigarette taxes are not socially taboo.
“Every single first-world country has excise taxes, has cigarette taxes,” he said. “It’s a matter of public health. Cigarette taxes have been well-established for decades. It’s truly for most a non-controversial thing.”
The bill was drafted to coincide with MSA’s “More for Less” campaign, a letter-writing campaign to state legislators concerning Gov. Jay Nixon’s 12.5 percent reduction in state funding to higher education.
Vaughn believes supporting the House bill is a simple remedy to the difficult budget issue.
“Whenever you’re faced with a budget problem, easy solutions are kind of hard to find, but with my bill, I feel like I’ve found an easy solution,” he said.
Senator Taylor Major also spoke against the bill. He recommended the issue of cigarette tax should be discussed with students before passing the bill.
Major also said he thought the issue was too big for MSA to deal with and the decision should instead be for Missouri voters to decide.
Senator Matt Kalish disagreed with this point, saying “education is education,” and the cigarette tax is of concern to MU students.