Cig Bill Supporters Mulling Options
by Adam Lynch
March 14, 2007
Proponents of the cigarette tax bill are considering other methods for getting the embattled bill out of the Senate Finance Committee after Finance Chair Tommy Robertson said he would kill the bill.
Robertson stayed true to his promises today, ignoring HB 247 as it sat in his committee on the day of the deadline. Robertson also exited the Senate chambers without a word as Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck, a supporter of the bill, asked senators to submit any last minute items for consideration.
Rep. Steve Holland, a strong proponent of the bill--which would raise the state?s cigarette tax up to $1 and cut the state?s disproportionately high grocery tax in half--criticized Robertson for not acting on the needs of the working people by allowing the bill out of his committee.
Unbroken, some legislators are asking the Senate to use a majority vote to force the popular bill out of Robertson?s committee.
Sen. Gloria Williamson, D-Philadelphia, said she would be fine if a majority of senators yanked the bill, but warned that the same majority originally co-signing on the bill may not be so quick to force Robertson?s hand.
?We need a majority of the Senate to do that, and we got 26 or 27 already behind it, but when you start to pull a bill out of committee, it?s a lot more serious than just signing your name on that bill. If you?ve got a bill in that committee that Robertson?s looking at then you can kiss that bill goodbye. It might come down to how many bills he could kill in vengeance,? Williamson said, adding that she did not recall such an extreme move since the 1980s.
Joseph Ammerman, communications director for Tuck, said the Senate had other options for protecting the bill.
?There is another way. You can vote to suspend the rules for any piece of legislation with a two-thirds vote and then reintroduce the same bill with a new number, so the deadlines won?t apply,? Ammerman said. ?It would be very hard, but I think there were 26 or 27 co-authors. And you had a huge majority on the House side. As far as we?re concerned, everything is still alive.?
Posted by Brian C. Johnson at 09:27 AM in MS Newspapers | Email this entry
Comments:
Good post man. 70-444 dumps According to my point of views, Robertson had done the right thing by staying correct to his pledges these days, paying no attention to HB 247 as it sat in his working group on the calendar day of the closing date. 70-624 dumps Thanks for the nice post.
Posted by on 07/03 at 07:07 AM | #
