Seven cents a pack, while they obsess about people reading dirty magazines

Some things in life, you just gotta let them speak for themselves:

New cigarette tax killed

Attempt to override Sanford’s veto falls short in S.C. House

By JOHN O’CONNOR - joconnor@thestate.com

The S.C. House — aided by Gov. Mark Sanford’s veto — killed a 50-cent per pack cigarette tax increase designed to expand health care coverage for low-income residents.

The vote came after hours of intense debate, with Democrats taking exception to House Speaker Bobby Harrell saying the new health care “entitlement” program would create children “from Day One telling them that the state was supposed to take care of you.”

Democrats said Harrell was evoking images of welfare queens torn from late S.C. GOP strategist Lee Atwater’s playbook, all while speaking — as Rep. Gilda Cobb-Hunter said — with “the privilege of white skin.”

The House was a “bunch of rich people up here deciding that because we got health care, don’t nobody else need it,” said Rep. Todd Rutherford, D-Richland. “Be for it or be against it, but don’t blame the children.”

That led House Majority Leader Jim Merrill, R-Berkeley, to defend Harrell, and note GOP opposition to adding money to a “broken down” Medicaid system. Others noted that health care budgets have increased.

“That’s a heck of a lot of money for a group of people who don’t support health care,” said Rep. Tracy Edge, R-Horry, of the $745 million added for health care in the four years he has been chairman of the health budget subcommittee.

Harrell said he did not regret his comments, and said the proposal would have extended health care coverage to the children of a family of four earning $54,000. Harrell said he supported a $22 million expansion of a children’s Medicaid program last year.

Democrats emphasized the expanded coverage funded by the cigarette tax would insure a pregnant woman earning between $7,000 and $14,000.

“The goal is to provide health care for the people of the state without having it solely done by the government,” Harrell said.

The House narrowly approved the bill last week, but Tuesday Gov. Mark Sanford vetoed the plan. Sanford said the cigarette tax — an estimated $160 million — could not match the rising cost of medical care.

“It jeopardizes taxpayers and the people who depend on Medicaid,” Sanford said.

That left it up to supporters to find two-thirds of House members willing to override the veto. Despite hours of debate, supporters failed to muster even a majority of votes, 54-57.

That vote belies how close the House came to overriding the veto.

Both supporters and opponents of the tax said the House was about four votes short of overriding the veto, with at least eight pro-tax lawmakers absent. As it became clear the bill would fail — and leadership strong-armed wayward Republicans — many lawmakers decided to vote to kill the tax.

Despite the failure of the bill this year, it is clear a majority of House and Senate members support raising the tax. But the question of whether to raise the tax was still less important to many than how the money would be spent.

Harrell said he would sponsor a bill next year to raise the 7-cent per pack tax and offer tax credits to purchase insurance. Harrell believes a tax increase will pass next year.

For those who favor raising the lowest-in-the-nation cigarette tax, that is another year a teen or young adult could pick up the habit, another year without health insurance.

“I’ve been a Gamecock my entire life,” said tax supporter Rep. Nathan Ballentine, R-Richland, “and ‘next year’ never comes.”