HB 1013 Referred to Senate Public Health and Welfare, Finance
After passing in the Mississippi House of Representatives by a 75-41 margin,
House Bill 1013 has been transmitted to the State Senate and doubly referred to the Senate Public Health & Welfare and Finance Committees. March 18 is the deadline for these committees to vote on bills originating from other chambers—which
The legislation is doubly referred because it encompasses both Medicaid and tax policy. The Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee is typically the initial clearinghouse in the State Senate on legislation concerning Mississippi’s Medicaid program. It also a custom that legislation in the Senate concerning tax policy is referred the Finance Committee. However, the committee allocation of all legislation in the Senate is the purview of the Lt. Governor—Phil Bryant.
Senator Hob Bryan of Amory chairs the Senate Public Health & Welfare while Senator Dean Kirby of Pearl is his counterpart in the Senate Finance Committee.
Public Health and Welfare Hob Bryan, Chairman; Alan Nunnelee, Vice-Chairman Members: Terry C. Burton; Eugene S. Clarke; Bob M. Dearing; Joey Fillingane; Hillman Terome Frazier; Billy Hewes III; W. Briggs Hopson III; John Horhn; Cindy Hyde-Smith; Gary Jackson; Kenneth Wayne Jones; Tom King; Chris McDaniel; Nolan Mettetal; Willie Simmons; Bennie L. Turner; Lee Yancey
Finance Dean Kirby, Chairman; Eugene S. Clarke, Vice-Chairman Members: Sidney Albritton; David Baria; Terry W. Brown; Nickey Browning; Hob Bryan; Kelvin E. Butler; Deborah Jeanne Dawkins; Tommy Dickerson; Joey Fillingane; Billy Hewes III; John Horhn; Robert L. Jackson; Kenneth Wayne Jones; David Jordan; Tom King; Chris McDaniel; Nolan Mettetal; Walter Michel; Eric Powell; Gray Tollison; Johnnie E. Walls, Jr.; Giles Ward; Michael Watson; Lee Yancey
Friday, February 29, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
WLBT Sound Off: Medicaid Funding
"So do we tax our local hospitals, who heal the sick or the out of state tobacco companies, who make us sick? I think we all know the right answer. " -- Dan Modisett, WLBT General Manager.
Click Here: Sound Off: Medicaid Funding
Monday, February 25, 2008
Thursday, February 21, 2008
House passes $1.00 cigarette tax increase
By Natalie Chandler • natalie.chandler@clarionledger.com • February 21, 2008
Seventy-four lawmakers supported House Bill 1013, while 42 opposed it. The bill needed 70 votes to pass. It now heads to the Senate for approval, but the legislation faces hurdles there.The state’s 18-cent cigarette tax is among the lowest in the nation. House Bill 1013 would raise it to $1.18. Medicaid needs millions of dollars to continue serving citizens. If funding is not found, cuts in services will be required, officials have said.GOP Gov. Haley Barbour wants to tax hospitals instead. But several House Democrats argued that tax would be passed on to patients.
Full Article: House passes cigarette tax hike bill
Seventy-four lawmakers supported House Bill 1013, while 42 opposed it. The bill needed 70 votes to pass. It now heads to the Senate for approval, but the legislation faces hurdles there.The state’s 18-cent cigarette tax is among the lowest in the nation. House Bill 1013 would raise it to $1.18. Medicaid needs millions of dollars to continue serving citizens. If funding is not found, cuts in services will be required, officials have said.GOP Gov. Haley Barbour wants to tax hospitals instead. But several House Democrats argued that tax would be passed on to patients.
Full Article: House passes cigarette tax hike bill
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Call Your Representative Wednesday
Call your Representative Wednesday and ask
him/her to vote for House Bill 1013- a measure that increases the cigarette tax by $1.00
HB 1013 would increase Mississippi's cigarette tax by $1.00 with 90% of the revenue earmarked for Medicaid. The other 10% would help fund the state's trauma system. The legislation will be taken up by the full House of Representatives as early as Thursday.
A cigarette tax increase is a win, win for Mississippi. It would save lives and save money by leading to a reduction in youth smoking while supplying the state with a new revenue source to fund Medicaid.
We need your help!
It is important that lawmakers recognize that they are in Jackson to represent the interest of the people not the bottom line of BIG TOBACCO.
Contact your Representative @ (601) 359-3770
Ask your Representative to:
· Vote for a $1.00 Cigarette Tax Increase
· Oppose Any Effort to Reduce that Amount
This is an opportunity for you to directly affect the health and welfare of this state. Let your Legislators know why this issue is important to you.
Ways and Means passes cigarette tax bill to fund Medicaid
By SHELIA BYRD
Associated Press Writer
JACKSON, Miss. --The House Ways and Means Committee approved two pieces of legislation on Monday aimed at creating revenue sources for the Division of Medicaid and the state's struggling trauma care system.
Committee members heard from House Medicaid Chairman Dirk Dedeaux, D-Gulfport, who explained that one bill would increase the excise tax on cigarettes by $1.
Currently, Mississippi's cigarette excise tax is 18 cents - among the lowest in the nation. Gov. Haley Barbour has vetoed past cigarette tax legislation and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Dean Kirby, R-Pearl, has said he won't consider any tax bills this year.
Dedeaux said the tax would generate about $174 million annually, based on figures from the Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University. He said 90 percent of the revenue would be earmarked for Medicaid. The other 10 percent would go to the trauma system.
Lawmakers are searching for a revenue source for Medicaid because the health care program for the underprivileged is facing a $92 million deficit in the current fiscal year. And, Medicaid Executive Director Robert L. Robinson has told lawmakers the program will need an extra $168 million in funding for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
Ways and Means passes cigarette tax bill to fund Medicaid
Associated Press Writer
JACKSON, Miss. --The House Ways and Means Committee approved two pieces of legislation on Monday aimed at creating revenue sources for the Division of Medicaid and the state's struggling trauma care system.
Committee members heard from House Medicaid Chairman Dirk Dedeaux, D-Gulfport, who explained that one bill would increase the excise tax on cigarettes by $1.
Currently, Mississippi's cigarette excise tax is 18 cents - among the lowest in the nation. Gov. Haley Barbour has vetoed past cigarette tax legislation and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Dean Kirby, R-Pearl, has said he won't consider any tax bills this year.
Dedeaux said the tax would generate about $174 million annually, based on figures from the Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University. He said 90 percent of the revenue would be earmarked for Medicaid. The other 10 percent would go to the trauma system.
Lawmakers are searching for a revenue source for Medicaid because the health care program for the underprivileged is facing a $92 million deficit in the current fiscal year. And, Medicaid Executive Director Robert L. Robinson has told lawmakers the program will need an extra $168 million in funding for the fiscal year that begins July 1.
Ways and Means passes cigarette tax bill to fund Medicaid
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