This section of the web site of the National Center for Tobacco-Free Older Persons of The Center for Social Gerontology (click on our Home Page below for more information about TCSG) contains regularly updated information on what is happening in states regarding the almost $250 billion the tobacco industry must pay to the states over the next 25 years as a result of the settlements they have signed to resolve Medicaid lawsuits filed by the states. The payment schedule is also on our web site. The information included focuses mostly on how the tobacco settlement funds are being directed toward programs for two major purposes: aging programs and tobacco control programs. Immediately below, we present highlights, some with links to news articles, which include a limited number of major stories/events; this is followed by state-by-state updates. We encourage users to email or fax (734 665-2071) information to us to be added to this site, either to update or correct information we have posted.

For the latest information and news on SMOKE-FREE ENVIRONMENTS ISSUES, see our new Smoke-Free Environments Law Project site at www.tcsg.org/sfelp/home.htm.

For daily news clipping updates on tobacco control issues, including the settlement funds, see Gene Borio's web site: www.tobacco.org.

Tobacco and Aging List-Serve:TCSG has created an interactive, list-serve on tobacco and older persons. Issues covered include: secondhand smoke, smoking cessation, tobacco settlement funds, health effects, legal and public policy matters, and others. To sign up, go to Smokescreen.org and click on Aging & Tobacco Discussion List.

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STATES WITH NEWS POSTED BELOW: 4/2: Louisiana, Mississippi, Ohio, Virginia; 2/24: Louisiana, Virginia; 2/12: New Hampshire, West Virginia; 1/19: Colorado, Ohio; 12/30: Alabama, North Carolina, North Dakota; 11/18: Pennsylvania; 10/13: New York (Chautauqua County); 9/5: New Hampshire; 9/4: California (Fairfield County), North Carolina, Ohio; 7/18: Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia;

See Highlights for reports on state's uses of settlement funds; See Highlights for Federal Lawsuit; visit TCSG's new Smoke-Free Environments Law Project web site here ; and see CDC reports on tobacco & minorities at TCSG's site under Articles/Materials;also, see to join the National Coalition for Tobacco-Free Older Persons; See Highlights for NCTFOP Press Release on Use of Settlement Funds for Aging & Tobacco Control; See Highlights for announcement of TCSG's new National Center for Tobacco-Free Older Persons; See Highlights RE smoking costs to Medicare.

STATES IN WHICH SETTLEMENT FUNDS HAVE BEEN ALLOCATED IN 2001 FOR AGING or TOBACCO CONTROL PROGRAMS: (SEE BELOW FOR SPECIFICS OF WHAT EACH STATE HAS DONE):

AGING: Alabama - $60.3 million for the Seniors' Safety Net Trust Fund; Arkansas - $5 million of settlement funds, matched with $13 million of federal Medicaid funds, for a total of $18 million for a new prescription drug program for elders; California: City of San Jose - $4.5 million for Senior Services; also Sacramento County - $65,000 for legal services for elders; Delaware - $6,635,400 of which $5,150,400 is for the prescription drug program, and $1,485,000 for SSI and Medicaid for elders and the disabled; Florida - $30.3 for a prescription drug program, $26.7 million for home and community based long term care and $4 million for Medicaid long-term care; Georgia - an indeterminate, but substantial millions of dollars for in-home and related services; Michigan - $45 million for a senior prescription drug program; Missouri - for FY'02, an estimated $50 to $100 million of settlement funds for a prescription drug program for elders, and possibly some portion of $7.2 million to expand Medicaid services for elders and the disabled, plus for FY'01, $127 million for the prescription drug assistance program for elders;

New Jersey - $50 million for the Senior Gold Pharmaceutical Assistance Program, $20 million for ElderCare Intiatives, and $12 million for nursing homes spousal income; Pennsylvania - $73 million, with $45 million for in-home services & $28 million for prescription drugs (in this and future years, 13% of total settlement funds are to go for in-home services and 8% for prescription drugs for elders).

TOBACCO CONTROL:Arkansas - $18 million annually; California: City of San Jose - $2.8 million; Delaware - $5,450,000 for FY2002; Florida - $39.1 million for FY2002; Georgia - over $5 million; Idaho - $50 million for FY2002; Illinois - $50 million; Indiana - $35 million, plus $30 million from last year, with the total $65 million to be spent over the next 2 fiscal years; Kentucky - $5 million for FY2002 and $5.5 million for FY2003; Missouri - $22.1 million; New Jersey - $32 million for FY2002; New Mexico - $5 million; Pennsylvania - $42 million (in this and future years, 12% of total settlement funds are to go for this purpose); Rhode Island - $4 million for FY2002; South Dakota - maybe $800,000 from interest on first year settlement funds (this is simply a part of the $4.2 million in general revenue funds appropriated for FY2001/02).

STATES IN WHICH SETTLEMENT FUNDS HAVE BEEN ALLOCATED IN 2000 FOR AGING or TOBACCO CONTROL PROGRAMS: (SEE BELOW FOR SPECIFICS OF WHAT EACH STATE HAS DONE):

AGING: California: City of San Jose - $2.5 million for Senior Services; Colorado - 1% of settlement funds, or about $1 million annually, for health needs of aging veterans; Delaware - $7.5 million for prescription drugs for elders and $1.5 million for in-home services for elders under the Medicaid waiver program, which should be matched by about $2 million of federal funds, for FY'01; Georgia - $8 million in settlement funds, plus about $5.9 million in federal matching funds, plus over $3 million in new state funds due to advocacy for the settlement funds for FY'01; Illinois - $35 million in FY'01 for prescription drug assistance for elders, plus $1.8 million for senior health services; Indiana - $20 million in FY'01 for prescription drugs for elders; Iowa - about half of $1.5 million in FY'01 going to counties for home care for elders; Maine - $10 million for FY'01 for prescription drugs for elders; Michigan - over $61 million for FY'01, plus about half of the $6 million going to Community Foundations for programs for children and elders; Nebraska - at least $130,000 for a senior nursing clinic; Nevada - $450,000 for FY'01 and 02, plus 30% of the overall settlement funds to go for prescription drugs and in-home care for elders; New Jersey - $61 million in FY'01 for prescription drugs and in-home care for elders; New York - for the EPIC prescription drug program for elders -- $107 million in calendar year 2000, plus a $55.4 million expansion in EPIC starting Oct. 1, 2000, plus $164 million in 2001, plus $189 million in 2002, and $324 million in 2003; Ohio - $12 million over next 12 years for prescription drugs for elders, with about $1 million for FY'01; Oklahoma - $36.2 million in FY'01 largely for health care services, including nursing home care, for elders; South Carolina - $20 million for prescription drug assistance for elders, and possibly millions more for senior services for FY'01.

TOBACCO CONTROL: Alaska - $1.4 million for FY'01; California: San Francisco - $1 million; California: City of San Jose - $2.5 million; Colorado - 15% annually, or about $15 million in FY'01, of the total settlement funds; Delaware - $3 million for FY'01; Georgia - $15.8 million for FY'01; Illinois - $29.5 million in FY'01; Indiana - $35 million for FY'01; Kansas - $500,00 for next fiscal year; Iowa - $9.3 million for FY'01; Kentucky - about $5.5 million for next two years; Maine - $18.3 million, plus $3.5 million in matching federal Medicaid funds, for a total of $21.8 million; Maryland - $30 million annually for the next ten years; Massachusetts - $12.1 million for FY'01; Nebraska - $7 million annually for next 3 years; Nevada - $600,000 for FY'01; New Hampshire - $3 million for FY'01; New Jersey - $30 million for FY'01; New Mexico - $2.225 million for FY'01; New York state - $30 million for FY'00, and $40 million in each of following three years; New York: Dutchess County - $500,000 for FY'01; New York: Livingston County - $45,000 for FY'01; New York: Monroe County - $500,000 for FY'01; New York: Suffolk County - $1.5 million for FY'01; Ohio - about $1.25 billion over next 12 years, including about $30 million for FY'01; Oklahoma - $2 million to be matched with about $4.5 million in federal and other funds; South Carolina - $1.75 million; South Dakota - $800,000 for FY'01; Texas - about $9 million for FY'01; Utah - $4 million in FY'01 and possibly another $2 million when lawsuits over legal fees are resolved; Vermont - $6.65 million for FY'01; Virginia - $11.8 million from last year's alloction of 10% of the overall settlement funds; Washington - $15.5 million for FY'01; West Virginia - $2 million.

STATES IN WHICH SETTLEMENT FUNDS WERE ALLOCATED IN 1999 FOR AGING or TOBACCO CONTROL PROGRAMS: (SEE BELOW FOR SPECIFICS OF WHAT EACH STATE HAS DONE):

AGING: Alabama - $2 million in FY'2000 for trust fund for elderly services; Delaware - an estimated $2.7 million in FY'2000 and $5.1 million in FY'2001 for a prescription drug program for low-income elders; Florida - $1.7 billion Fund for elders & kids with $17.3 million for elders in FY'2000; Maine - $5 million for use in FY'2001; Massachusetts - $42 million for FY'2000; Michigan - $53 million in FY'2000, plus about half the $6 million going to Community Foundations for programs for children and elders; Nebraska - $0.5 million; Nevada - 30% of settlement payments annually equals $360 million over 25 years; New Jersey - $19.2 million in FY'2000; Rhode Island - $3.4 million in FY'2000; Vermont - $325,000 in FY'2000.

TOBACCO CONTROL: Alaska - $1.4 million for FY'2000; Florida - $45 million in FY'2000; Hawaii - 25% of settlement total, or about $3.6 million in FY'2000 and about $10-12 million in future years; Maine - $3.5 million in FY'2001; Maryland - $21 million annually; Massachusetts - 1/4 of 30% of funds annually or about $22.8 million in FY'2000; Minnesota - $489 million into endowments for tobacco prevention programs, with $17.7 million for FY'2000; Mississippi - a pilot program for 1999 & 2000 was funded with $62 million ; Montana - $7 million for biennium of FY'2000-01; Nevada - 10% of settlement funds annually or $120 million over 25 years; New Hampshire - $3 million per year; New Jersey - $18.6 million in FY'2000; New York state - $37 million in FY'2000; New York City - $13 million for FY'2000; North Dakota - some portion of 10% of the funds set aside for health programs; Rhode Island - $1 million for FY'2000; Texas - $200 million into an endowment, with interest of about $10 million annually for tobacco prevention; Vermont - reserved $19.2 million for FY'2000; Virginia - 10% of settlement funds for tobacco control and other health programs, with $11.8 million to go for tobacco prevention in the coming year; Washington - $100 million for tobacco control, but not clear how much for FY'2000 or future years out of the $100 million; Wisconsin - $23.5 million for the biennium, with $2.3 million for FY'2000 and $21.2 million for FY'01; Wyoming - all settlement funds in a trust, with some to be allocated in 2000 for tobacco prevention.

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HIGHLIGHTS

For 2000 highlights, click here.

For 1999 highlights, click here.

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STATE-BY-STATE UPDATES

How to read the updates: Each state update begins with the total projected funds over 25 years; 1st year payment; and 2nd year payment. Both the 1st and 2nd year payments are expected to be made to the states by July, 2000, if not sooner; therefore, both payments are expected to be made within many states' FY'2000 budget period. The 1st year payments may be received by spring of 1999. However, payments to 46 states and the territories are currently being held until final court decrees have been entered in enough of these states to amount to 80% of the Medicaid populations of the 46 states which entered into the overall $206 billion settlement. The states of Mississippi, Florida, Texas and Minnesota each entered into separate settlements, and these 4 states have begun to receive their payments.

Each state's update briefly lists what, if anything, TCSG has learned about what is going on in the state regarding proposals for how the tobacco settlement funds should be spent, including proposals made by Governors, Attorneys General, key elected officials, aging groups, tobacco control groups and other key groups or coalitions. ITEMS IN CAPITAL LETTERS WILL HIGHLIGHT AGING OR TOBACCO CONTROL PROGRAMS; IF NO ITEMS ARE CAPITALIZED, TCSG IS UNAWARE OF PLANS FOR USE OF SETTLEMENT FUNDS FOR AGING OR TOBACCO CONTROL PROGRAMS. We will update this information on close to a daily basis, albeit not for every state, and will delete previous notices when they appear to be out of date. For additional information, you may contact us by e-mail; please send us information, including news articles so we can make this listing as current and accurate as possible.

To jump to a particular state, click on the first letter of its name:
A | C | D | F | G | H | I | K | L | M | N | O | P | R | S | T | U | V | W

ALABAMA

Total: $3.17 billion; 1st paymt $38.8 million; 2nd paymt $103.6 million.

• 12/30: A state bond commission voted Monday to give $12 million to the University of South Alabama to help build a cancer research institute. USA has dedicated its share of the state's tobacco settlement to the project, setting aside the $3.9 million it has received so far. The university is supposed to get $17.2 million eventually. The USA Foundation has also pledged more than $1 million to the cancer institute. The university is using the tobacco and foundation money to pay for salaries and underwrite start-up costs. [Mobile Register, Dec. 30, 2003]

• 8/21: Tobacco is a tiny speck in Alabama's agricultural landscape at less than 300 total acres. Yet Alabama politicians steered $500,000 to the tobacco farmers from Alabama's $3 billion share of the national tobacco settlement. Most of the Alabama farmers, like Everett, got small checks. The owner of a large farm, Wayne Kervin of Georgiana, got $231,853, based on pounds of tobacco grown. To Everett, who farms six acres for his retirement, and Kervin, who farms more than 100, the move makes perfect sense. They've seen their crops cut roughly in half in the past five years by federal quota cuts, the shift to overseas growers and smoking declines. [Birmingham News, August 18, 2002]

• 10/23: Alabama has received $234.8 million so far from the tobacco settlement but only $681,113, about the cost of two cigarettes per person in the state, has been spent on anti-smoking campaigns. State Health Officer Dr. Don Williamson and anti-smoking groups said last week that's clearly not enough. "It's a drop in the bucket,'' said Janet Windle, chairwoman of the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Alabama. "For all the millions of dollars, this is all they allocated on this issue.'' Dr. Williamson's agency got $335,000 last year out of the Legislature from the national tobacco settlement worked out by states ostensibly to recover the cost of smoking-related illnesses by Medicaid recipients. His agency is using $235,000 of the total to buy and distribute education programs for teachers. Of the $335,000, $100,000 was allocated to the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board to hire agents and buy equipment to enforce the age ban on buying cigarettes. But the ABC Board got only $40,000 and is owed $60,000. [Florence Times Daily, Oct. 22, 2001]

• On April 17th, the House approved a bill giving $97 million more to an economic development fund controlled by Governor Don Siegelman. This money would be used for industrial incentives. If approved by the Senate, the money would finish paying for incentives promised to lure a new Honda plant, as well as pledges made to Mercedes, Toyota, and other companies locating in Alabama. House members amended the legislation to be subject to all sections of the state's competitive bid law. The bonds from this will be repaid from the tobacco settlement funds and would transfer the risk to the bondholders. [Mobile Register, April 18, 2001]

• On April 16th, Alabama received another $66 million from the tobacco settlement, bringing the total to $229 million thus far. Several legislators have criticized Governor Siegelman for being slow in releasing the settlement funds for programs once the state receives the payments. For example, the Governor did not release about $60 million for the "Seniors Safety Net" programs for many months after it could have been released; this money was for PRESCRIPTION DRUGS, IN-HOME CARE, and NURSING HOME CARE. The governor's staff said the money would be released more quickly this time. [The Associated Press, April 17, 2001]

• On March 29th, Governor Don Siegelman announced that he is adding $60,272,701 of settlement funds to the Seniors' Safety Net Trust Fund for services for the ELDERLY. The fund was created to provide earnings which can go for services for seniors who are not covered by Medicaid. The earnings from the Trust Fund are available for NURSING HOME CARE, HOSPITALIZATION AND PRESCRIPTION DRUGS FOR SENIORS. Exactly how much this will put into the service system for seniors this year is unclear, but the earnings will be drawn on both this year and in future years. [Associated Press, March 30, 2001]

• On September 19th, the Children First oversight Committee of the legislature held its first meeting and announced they will meet again on November 1st. The Committee said it wants to hear from the Children's Affairs Commissioner on how the state is spending the $50 million in settlement funds it has already received for services to children and youth. As of August 22nd, various state agencies have already spent about $11.4 million of these funds and the Committee wants to be sure how it has been spent. [Birmingham News, September 20, 2000]

• On July 28th, a deal was announced by the University of South Alabama president under which the university will receive $20 million from the state for dropping their 1997 lawsuit to obtain tobacco settlement funds from either the state or the tobacco companies (see story below). This lawsuit has been weaving its way through state and federal courts since it was filed, with the university claiming that it had provided substantial care for persons with diseases due to tobacco and, therefore, had a right to sue the tobacco industry for reimbursement or to get some of the settlement funds. In December, 1999, the university very quietly dropped the lawsuit. On July 28th, the university president announced that the governor had agreed to the university getting $20 million over the next decade for dropping the suit. Attorney General Pryor, who had heatedly fought the lawsuit, agreed to the arrangement. It is not clear if the $20 million will come directly from the settlement funds or from other state revenues. [Mobile Register, July 29, 2000]

• Governor Don Siegleman (D) announced on Jan. 27th that he would file legislation to create a Medicaid "Rainy Day" Fund, with settlement funds, to support various Medicaid programs through the end of the decade, particularly PRESCRIPTION DRUGS AND LONG-TERM CARE FOR ELDERS. Siegleman's announcement, at a Montgomery Senior Center, did not name a dollar figure, but he said this figure would be forthcoming with his budget address. The governor said he would create a Long Term Care Task Force, which he would chair and which would include the Medicaid commissioner and Aging Commissioner Dr. Melissa Galvin and others, to study the growing needs of ELDERS. He will propose that funds placed in the Medicaid Fund be invested and maintained separately from other state revenues and only used for purposes established by the board overseeing the fund. AGING groups reacted favorably to the governor's speech, particularly since last year he had opposed using settlement funds for aging programs; but, they await the dollar figures he has in mind. [Governor's press release & TCSG sources, Jan. 27, 2000]

• On June 9th, the Governor signed legislation which will provide $2 million annually, or $50 million over 25 years, for SENIOR CITIZENS PROGRAMS. Elder rights groups in Alabama also expect to seek additional funds in future years, including, in all likelihood, from the settlement funds.[AP, June 9, 1999) See Highlights for action by the legislature on June 1st which sent a bill to the Governor which will allocate $2 million in settlement funds in FY'2000 to a TRUST FUND FOR ELDER SERVICES, while providing up to $40 million of the funds to the Medicaid program which was threatened with severe cuts, and $60 million for the Children First program (see below for more on this program), as well as $7 million for economic development , which had been a key priority of the Governor. The legislature and Governor sought to use none of the funds for TOBACCO PREVENTION/CESSATION. [ AP June 9, 1999 Mobile Register, June 2, 1999].

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ALASKA

Total: $668.9 million; 1st paymt $8.2 million; 2nd paymt $21.9 million.

• 5/13: State legislators are refusing to spend as much as they promised on a major state campaign against tobacco use, say advocates with the American Cancer Society. The anti-tobacco budget shaping up in Juneau falls about $1 million short of what lawmakers just a year ago said they'd spend from the millions pouring into Alaska from a tobacco lawsuit settlement. The Legislature pledged 20 percent of the settlement for programs like television advertisements against smoking but is granting about 15 percent, activists said. They are fuming over what they call a betrayal. "For them to turn around before the ink is even dry on the bill and to take it and use it for purposes other than in the legislation they approved last year is scandalous," said Eric Myers, a longtime activist against tobacco and a local board member of the American Cancer Society. The 20 percent would amount to about $5 million of the $25 million Alaska expects to get this budget year from its 1998 legal settlement with the tobacco companies. A joint House-Senate committee working on the budget split 4-2 along party lines in approving $4 million. The bulk of the tobacco money has been pledged to construction projects. [Anchorage Daily News, May 13, 2002]

• 2/12: The disproportionately high use of tobacco among youth and Native Alaskans is a growing concern for health organizations around the state. In November, Gov. Tony Knowles proposed $7,500,000 be set aside for anti-tobacco youth programs. This past week the South Central Foundation and the Alaska Native Health Board sponsored the Tobacco Prevention Regional Conference. The anti-tobacco advocates are gearing up for another round of lobbying in Juneau. They intend to make sure 20 percent of the tobacco settlement monies Alaska receives are appropriated for anti-tobacco programs and services. [KTUU-Ch. 2, Feb. 9, 2002]

• Prior to May 11th, Legislators approved $110 million in bonds to be repaid with income from a tobacco litigation settlement. The bonds will pay for three new schools in rural Alaska and provide planning money for a fourth. It will also pay for 28 major school maintenance projects, about $20 million in university projects and about $14 million of port and harbor work. That bond program, combined with one approved last year, will tie up 80 percent of the money the state receives from the tobacco settlement, perhaps for the next 15-18 years. Legislators agreed to divert the remaining 20 percent ($4.5 million next year and about $5 million for the next several years) to an account for ANTI-SMOKING AND SMOKING CESSATION efforts. [Associated Press, May 10, 2001]

• On May 7th, the Senate voted 14-5 to make annual deposits of 20 percent of the tobacco settlements into a fund dedicated to SMOKING CESSATION AND EDUCATION. The House had approved similar language, but the Senate Health, Education, and Social Services Committee changed the bill during committee deliberations. Senator Alan Austerman (R-Kodiak) offered the amendment to change it back and was quickly joined by a half dozen co-sponsors. The smoking cessation fund currently has $1.5 million. If the bill becomes law, 40 percent of he tobacco money would be used for projects approved last year, 40 percent for schools, University of Alaska projects and ports and harbors outlined in the bill, and 20 percent for smoking cessation efforts. [Associated Press, May 8, 2001]

• On October 26th, the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) completed the sale of $116 million worth of construction bonds backed by the tobacco settlement funds. This sale was completed a day after a state Superior Court judge approved the plan to sell the bonds when he dismissed a legal challenge to the sale. The money raised by the sale of the bonds will go for port and school repair and construction. Eric Myers who challenged the sale of the bonds has said he will appeal to the state Supreme Court; if he were to prevail, the sale of the bonds would need to be rescinded, one would think. AHFC does not expect to lose the appeal, officials said. [Reuters, October 26, 2000]

• On September 15th, the state of Alaska Housing Finance Corporation announced that its Board of Directors had approved creation of Northern Tobacco Securitization Corporation (NTSC) as the nonprofit public corporation which will be used to issue bonds backed by the tobacco settlement funds on behalf of the state. In the past legislative session, HB 281 had been enacted, at the request of Governor Knowles, to enable the state to use 40% of the settlement money the state expects to receive to issue bonds. The money raised by the sale of the bonds would be used to finance the construction of about $93 million worth of school construction projects. The money could also be used for university construction projects and facilities for ports and harbors. The creation of the NTSC is a way of protecting the state from having any obligation to holders of bonds; i.e., the risk is to be held solely by the bondholders. It is not clear when the bonds will be offered for sale. [PRNewswire release from Alaska Housing Finance Corporation, September 15, 2000]

• When the legislature finished work on the fiscal year 2001 budget, they had appropriated $1.4 million of settlement funds for TOBACCO PREVENTION & CESSATION PROGRAMS. This is the same amount that was allocated in fiscal year 2000. The governor signed the FY'01 appropriation, and the funds are now being disbursed. [TCSG sources in Alaska, July 13, 2000]

• Now that the FY'2000 budget has been approved, and $1.4 million has been allocated for TOBACCO PREVENTION AND CESSATION PROGRAMS (see HB 50, section 38 on the Alaska legislature's web site), planning is going forward by the key players -- Alaska Tobacco Control Coalition, American Lung Association (ALA) and the Alaska Department of Health & Social Services (DHSS) for how to utilize the funds. The $1.4 million was allocated to the DHSS to administer, but is to be put out as a grant to the ALA on behalf of the Alaska Tobacco Control Coalition. [TCSG sources in Alaska, June 15, 1999]

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ARIZONA

Total: $2.9 billion; 1st paymt $35.4 million; 2nd paymt $94.5 million.

• 7/23: Arizona is "one of the most disappointing states" in the nation because the state's leaders have slashed funding for its highly successful tobacco prevention program, according to a national report issued today by the American Lung Association, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Arizona voters will have the opportunity to increase funding for tobacco prevention and protect it in the future by supporting an initiative on the November ballot to increase the state cigarette tax by 60 cents a pack, with some of the revenue dedicated to tobacco prevention. According to the new report, Arizona has fallen from second to eleventh in the nation in its funding of tobacco prevention because Gov. Jane Dee Hull and the Legislature have cut prevention funding in half, from $36.6 million to $18.3 million. Arizona currently spends 65.7 percent of the $28 million minimum amount that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended. [U.S. Newswire, July 22, 2002]

• 6/12: The state collected nearly $160 million in tobacco taxes in the past year. Here's where the cuts could come: Of the $25 million that went toward tobacco-related health education programs, about $5 million a year for five years will go toward research at the Arizona Bioscience and Biomedical Institutes. Of $5.5 million earmarked for health-research, about $500,000 a year for a decade will go to biotech research. The state will dedicate more than $90 million toward the planned biotechnology research institutes whether or not it lands the prestigious International Genomics Consortium, Gov. Jane Hull's office said Tuesday. About one-third of that will come from tobacco taxes, making administrators fret over cuts to health-related research and programs. [Arizona Daily Star, June 12, 2002]

• 5/9: Governor Jane Hull on Wednesday signed a bill to provide $500,000 annually for the next 10 years to help the state attract an international biotechnology project. Hull called the financial commitment she sought "an important step in the historic process of making Arizona an international center for biotechnology." Hull requested the state funding from tobacco-tax revenue as part of an incentives package being compiled from various sources to lure the headquarters of the International Genomics Consortium. Hull is also asking lawmakers to budget an additional $5 million a year for five years from tobacco-tax revenue. [Associated Press, March 8, 2002]

• 3/22: Gov. Jane Hull thinks she's found a way to provide free health care to more Arizonans - and do it in a way that actually saves the state money. The plan would expand the state's 4-year-old KidsCare program, said Tom Betlach, the governor's chief budget analyst. When KidsCare was adopted, the eligibility level for the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, funded with federal and state dollars, was about $5,300 a year for a family of four. Since that time, however, voters approved Proposition 204, which uses proceeds from a settlement with the tobacco companies to boost the cutoff to the federal poverty level, about $16,000 a year for that family. [Arizona Daily Star, March 22, 2002]

• 3/12: A House panel decided Monday to ask voters to limit how much the state must spend to provide free health care for the working poor. The measure was approved on a 10-6 vote by the House Appropriations Committee. It would limit spending for expansion of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System to the funds available from the state's settlement of its lawsuit with the tobacco industry, plus the cash the state already was spending for the program. The only increases would be for inflation and population growth. [Arizona Daily Star, March 12, 2002]

• 2/20: Saying voters were misled, Senate President Randall Gnant seeks to put part of Proposition 204 that was approved less than two years ago back on the ballot. Gnant's plan, if approved in November, would retain the requirement that Arizona use proceeds from a nationwide tobacco settlement to provide free health care for the working poor. But Gnant wants voters to allow lawmakers to stop enrolling people if the tobacco money runs out, even if they are financially eligible. He said voters never knew the financial obligations would cut into the state's operating budget. Initiative proponents said the cost could be met by the $100 million a year the state is expected to receive from the tobacco settlement. But there was a fail-safe: If those funds weren't enough, the state general fund would make up the difference. [Arizona Daily Star, Feb. 19, 2002]

• 12/27: Governor Jane Hull rejected lawmakers' attempt to use federal welfare money, about $2.5 million, for the Healthy Families program and pregnancy prevention. Hull said that money should be used for welfare recipients, not to expand a program that also receives money from the state's portion of the nationwide tobacco settlement. Carol Kamin of the Children's Action Alliance said the tobacco money will dry up within two years, ending one of the state's most recognized and successful child abuse prevention programs. [The Arizona Republic, Dec. 21, 2001]

• 12/21: State lawmakers approved a $49.2 million plan to improve instruction for students learning the English language Wednesday, paving the way for a new court fight. On the last day, lawmakers also voted to fund dialysis and chemotherapy for 159 people who are not U.S. citizens. The dialysis plan uses $2.8 million from tobacco-education funds to pay for the care for those who are poor but do not qualify for state-paid health care because of their immigration status. That includes those here legally for less than five years and those who are illegal entrants. [Arizona Daily Star, Dec. 20, 2001]

• 12/19: To balance the state's budget, Governor Jane Dee Hull made a proposal that would essentially end the state's successful tobacco prevention program, which is currently funded at $34.5 million a year through a cigarette excise tax approved by voters in 1994. In a big victory for tobacco prevention, the Arizona Legislature rejected this proposal. The Legislature did vote to take $15 million from the program's reserve account, but did not reduce the operating funds. [Tobacco Free Kids, Dec. 19, 2001]

• 11/20: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. violated terms of a multi-billion dollar settlement by advertising year-round at two Arizona auto race tracks, a judge ruled Friday. Judge Colleen McNally of Maricopa County Superior Court ruled that Reynolds violated advertising limits imposed by the settlement between 46 states and major tobacco companies, including Reynolds. The ruling came in a lawsuit filed March 19 by the Arizona attorney general's office. Tom Prose, chief assistant attorney general, said the ruling will require Reynolds to take down its outdoor advertisements at Arizona tracks and that it would likely be followed in other states. A March lawsuit filed by the Arizona attorney general's office said Reynolds left outdoor advertisements up year-round at Phoenix International Raceway and Firebird International Raceway in Chandler. Phoenix International is the site of NASCAR Winston Cup stock car racing in October and Firebird is the site of NHRA Winston Drag Racing Series competition in February. Those events last just a few days each year and the settlement required that ads be placed no more than 90 days before the first day and removed within 10 days after the last day's event, the state's lawsuit said. Reynolds argued that it could leave the ads up year-round because it actually was advertising for each racing series' entire season. The Winston Cub series begins in Daytona, Fla., in February and ends in Atlanta in November. [Raleigh News & Observer, Nov. 16, 2001]

• With 99.9% of the ballots counted, on November 7th Arizona voters approved both ballot initiatives which would allocate the settlement funds. Proposition 204, called the Healthy Arizona 2 proposition would allocate the settlement funds totally for the provision of health insurance coverage for about 100,000 working poor persons; it received 63% yes votes, totaling 791,784 votes. Proposition 200, called the Healthy Children, Healthy Families proposition, would have used some of the settlement funds for health insurance for about 40,000 uninsured persons and the rest of the settlement funds for a variety of other health programs, including for AGING; it received 58% yes votes, totaling 733,831 votes. Since the proposition with the most votes, which also got at least 50% of the vote total (which both did), wins, it would appear that Proposition 204 will be the winner. Both ballot measures had been put before the voters because the legislature could not decide what to do with the funds. Now it will remain to be seen if the ballot measures will be implemented as the voters directed. [Arizona Republic, November 8, 2000]

• Governor Jane Hull (R), in her Jan. 10th State of the State address set forth her proposals for using the settlement funds. She again stated that her priorities are to use the funds for health-related projects/programs, as follows: building a new state hospital is her top priority; using the remaining funds from the up-front payments to enhance community health delivery infrastructures, including health facilities, mobile clinics and telemedicine; using the annual payments to fund a health trust to address issues related to children, behavioral health, the uninsured, the ELDERLY, and disease prevention and research. She said she agreed with Senate president Burns that a trust fund is appropriate for funding these health needs, but she wants that to be done with future payments, not the initial ones. She also wants one third of the initial payments to go for behavioral health needs. Her next priority is children's health programs; this is followed by rural health needs and then health care coverage for the working poor. Then, the governor said she wants to ENSURE THAT LONG-TERM CARE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED in safe settings by qualified caregivers. She said Rep. Sue Gerard's task force has taken the lead in finding workable solutions to resolve our long-term care needs and she commends her. No mention was made of SMOKING PREVENTION & CESSATION PROGRAMS. [Arizona Republic, Jan. 11, 2000 & Governor's State of the State address, Jan. 10, 2000]

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ARKANSAS

Total: $1.6 billion; 1st paymt $19.9 million; 2nd paymt $53.1 million.

• 4/4: Arkansas lawmakers may have a solution to the state's budget crunch, but their plan has some anti-smoking activists fuming. Some lawmakers want to take money from the tobacco settlements fund to bail out the state, but taking that money away from coalitions aimed at fighting smoking might just destroy those programs. The Tobacco-Free Coalition in northwest Arkansas gets most of its funding though the settlement money. Voters decided how they wanted the tobacco money to be spent, so the coalition was promised $100,000 for the first year. Each year, the coalition reapplies for funding. However, if the Legislature dips into the settlement fund there may not be money for the future of organizations like the Tobacco-Free Coalition. [KHBS/KHOG, April 2, 2003]

• 8/2: The Tobacco Settlement Commission voted Tuesday to recommend that funding be continued for all programs that received tobacco settlement money in the fiscal year that ended June 30. The commission's unanimous vote, taken during a conference call, will go to Gov. Mike Huckabee and the Legislature so that funding decisions can be made during the legislative session that will begin in January. The commission, created in 2001 to oversee the $55 million a year the state expects to receive from the national tobacco settlement, had until Thursday to make funding recommendations and adopt performance indicators for agencies that receive tobacco settlement money. Earlier this month, Dr. Joe Thompson of Little Rock, of the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement, presented a draft report to the commission. He said then that the programs received less than 50 percent of their expected funding because some of the year's receipts went to complete the $100 million trust fund established by the Legislature for future health needs. [Southwest Times Record, July 31, 2002]

• 5/1: The deadline for community groups and organizations to apply for grant money for tobacco prevention and education programs is May 31, according to the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Arkansas. The coalition has $85,000 available for funding community-based tobacco prevention and education programs. Awards will range from $5,000 to $25,000 depending on the size, needs and activities of the communities applying for the grant. Grant applicants must be public or private Arkansas nonprofits, or organizations that are seeking nonprofit status. The grants are supported from the CHART (Coalition for a Healthy Arkansas Today) plan, which was approved by voters in November 2000. That act set aside funds for tobacco prevention and education to decrease the use of tobacco in Arkansas. [Morning News of NW Arkansas, April 30, 2002]

• 4/17: Arkansas' share of tobacco settlement payments for 2002 will reach $61 million this year with a payment of $43 million this month, it was announced Monday. Arkansas is expected to receive between $50 million and $60 million a year indefinitely as part of a 1998 settlement between 46 states and the nation's major tobacco companies. Attorney General Mark Pryor announced Monday that Price Waterhouse Cooper has directed the participating tobacco manufacturers to make payments to Arkansas and other settling states in accordance with the Master Settlement Agreement. Arkansas received a $16 million payment in January. Pryor's office also learned Monday that Arkansas will get another $964,294 as part of $204 million that had been withheld in January by Brown and Williamson Tobacco Co., according to Michael Teague, spokesman for Pryor. [Southwest Times Record, April 16, 2002]

• 3/25: Governor Mike Huckabee's plan to use tobacco settlement money to salvage a Medicaid program probably will be abandoned, Ray Hanley, the state's Medicaid chief says. Hanley said "it's unlikely" the state will take $2.9 million from the state's tobacco settlement money to preserve the program for the medically needy through the end of the fiscal year -- June 30. He said the state in the meantime must find an alternative source for the $2.9 million. None has been found, but many options are being considered, he said. "We're working on it," Hanley said. Huckabee began to backtrack on the diversion plan late last month after Attorney General Mark Pryor concluded that the transfer of money would be illegal. The medically needy Medicaid program helps about 30,000 Arkansans. The medically needy typically are middle-income people who spend themselves to below the poverty level during a three-month period because of catastrophic medical conditions, such as a heart transplant or injuries from a car wreck. Pryor's nonbinding, written opinion was sought in a question submitted Feb. 8 by state Sen. Jim Argue, D-Little Rock. [Morning News of NW Arkansas, March 23, 2002]

• 3/8: Despite the hard line he took earlier, Gov. Mike Huckabee said Wednesday that he's reconsidering his plan to use $3 million of tobacco settlement money to shore up funding for Medicaid. Attorney General Mark Pryor has said the governor's plan to shift tobacco money to Medicaid would be illegal. On Feb. 14, Huckabee said he wouldn't change his mind on the "mere basis of an attorney general's opinion. "Wednesday, Huckabee said his primary goal is ensuring there's enough money to continue the "medically needy" category of Medicaid, which helps low-income people with large hospital bills. Huckabee didn't say he definitely wouldn't use the tobacco money for the medically needy category. "But he's re-evaluating his position," Argue said. "I think the guy deserves credit to be willing to re-evaluate his position." [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, March 7, 2002]

• 2/18: Governor Mike Huckabee's plan to transfer $3 million of the state's tobacco settlement to counter budget cuts is illegal, Attorney General Mark Pryor said in an opinion Friday. In a conference call, he described the Huckabee administration's attempt to justify the transfer as "federal government math" and said the administration's lawyers are "playing with definitions." "When the people passed the tobacco plan in Arkansas, they designated how the money will be spent," Pryor said. "We cannot come back now and change [the plan]." Pryor said only the Legislature or the people can change the plan. Huckabee said Thursday that he would go ahead with his plan regardless of Pryor's opinion, which is not binding. Huckabee's plan would shift the money to a Medicaid program known as the "medically needy," which pays hospital bills for people with catastrophic injuries or illnesses. [Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Feb. 16, 2002]

• 2/13: Governor Mike Huckabee wouldn't reveal details of a meeting late Wednesday with key players in the coalition behind the tobacco settlement spending plan, worth about $60 million a year. The subject of the meeting was the initiated act the voters approved in 2000 to distribute the money. More specifically, the participants talked about "maintaining [the act's] integrity," said one lobbyist who attended the meeting, Robert Evans of Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. The meeting came five days after the lead author of the plan, Dr. Joe Thompson of Little Rock, expressed concern that Huckabee had violated the intent of the initiated act by announcing a plan to use $3 million of tobacco money to help the state through budget cuts this year. [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Feb. 14, 2002]

• 2/10: Friday that Governor Mike Huckabee's use of the money to solve a budget shortfall wasn't the intent of the initiated act that voters approved in 2000. "This is not the way it was envisioned this money was to be spent," said Thompson, a pediatrician. "The intent of this was to create and expand health insurance for those who do not have it." This week, legislators and legislative staff have questioned the legality of Huckabee's plan to siphon $3 million from tobacco settlement funds and send it to a Medicaid program facing cuts. An administration lawyer also has said that plan falls into a legal gray area. [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Feb. 9, 2002]

• 1/18: Governor Mike Huckabee reversed himself Wednesday and said he would use money from the state's $1.6 billion tobacco settlement to save Medicaid services for thousands of Arkansans. Huckabee announced his plan to use $2.9 million of tobacco money earmarked for expanding Medicaid services for adults ages 19-64 to offset planned cuts that would have eliminated the medically needy category on March 1. That category of Medicaid covers about 30,000 people, recipients who are not typically Medicaid eligible but become so temporarily because of catastrophic medical problems that result in high bills. It also includes hundreds of low-income Arkansans with serious illnesses that carry large medication and treatment expenses. "The way we're announcing ... gives us the ability to answer the need without having to have a session, without having to change the CHART formula," Huckabee said. "It totally keeps faith with the program and the voters, and the intentions." [Associated Press, Jan. 17, 2002]

• 1/9: A once hotly contested provision of Arkansas' master tobacco settlement plan became reality Monday evening when the College of Public Health opened its doors for its first class. Students and faculty of the College of Public Health at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences gathered for a class picture before heading straight into their first seminar: "An Introduction to Public Health." Despite the gentle introduction, the 41 students enrolled in the two-year master's of public health program will be expected to do more than just sit in classrooms, said Dr. Thomas Bruce, interim dean of the college. Instead, the students -- who include all kinds of full-time professionals, including a flight attendant and doctors -- will get their feet wet in the real world of public health. They'll work on projects to improve health in areas throughout the state. "We'll be very, very much involved in community programs," Bruce said, adding that the first projects the school will embark on will include a rural project in Phillips County and an urban one in Little Rock. "It will be public health in which students actually serve in the community." The college was born out of the voter-approved Coalition for a Healthy Arkansas Today, commonly known as CHART, plan that organized the spending of Arkansas' share of the master settlement with major tobacco companies. The school will receive about $5 million a year from the state tobacco settlement. The college now exists as a school without a building. Classes meet in existing classrooms on the UAMS campus while a three-story building for the college is under construction. That building, due for completion in fall 2003, is going up on top of an existing education building on the campus. College officials hope future grants and funding will increase the school to six floors. The college also exists without a dean. Candidates have been interviewed, and Bruce, who came out of retirement to get the college running, said a permanent dean is expected in mid-April. Bruce said he will become the chairman of the board of directors of Heifer International. Although inaugural events at the school went without a hitch Monday, the future of the college wasn't always certain. Despite its inclusion in the CHART plan, the college faced numerous hurdles that threatened its existence last year as the value of such a program lacked wide appreciation. [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Jan. 8, 2002]

• 1/3: Governor Mike Huckabee said Wednesday that the state's tobacco settlement funds should not be tapped without voter approval to offset any of the $142 million in budget cuts in state government. In November 2000, 64 percent of the voters approved a Huckabee-backed plan that outlined how the state would spend its roughly $60 million-a-year share from the national legal settlement with tobacco companies. Some legislators are studying the possibility of using some of the tobacco settlement funds to pay for services that are being trimmed because of the cuts, particularly Medicaid cuts of $50 million in state and federal funds. [Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Jan. 3, 2002]

• As noted below, when the dust cleared from the legislative session, AGING and TOBACCO CONTROL ADVOCATES had achieved major victories in the struggle for tobacco settlement funds. Aging advocates parlayed their multi-year campaign for settlement funds and other state funds into the following: $5 million of settlement funds, matched with $13 million of federal Medicaid funds, for a new $18 million PRESCRIPTION DRUG PROGRAM FOR ELDERS; $1 million in tobacco tax revenues for MEALS-ON-WHEELS FOR ELDERS; $3 million from a new tax on rental cars for TRANSPORTATION SERVICES FOR ELDERS; a total of $4.4 million in capital improvement funds for cities and towns to help build SENIOR CENTERS and COMMUNITY CENTERS FOR ELDERS. The down side was that funding for certain other aging services were cut by $465,000 in 2001-2002 and $609,500 in 2002-2003; among the programs cut were LEGAL ASSISTANCE SERVICES and money for the "Aging Arkansas" newspaper. TOBACCO CONTROL PROGRAMS were funded at $18 million annually, which was a major victory and will enable the state to undertake a significant effort in this area. [Aging Arkansas, May, 2001 and TCSG sources]

• On April 9th, the Senate approved 11 of 12 appropriation bills that would implement the voter-approved initiated act for spending the state's share of the settlement with the major tobacco companies. The Senate voted 35-0, without any discussion or questions, to send these bills to Governor Mike Huckabee. A dozen bills involving tobacco settlement funds represent about a third of Huckabee's legislative agenda. The 12th bill, HB1748 cleared the House 85-7 last week after it was amended to reflect a compromise with Governor Huckabee to add money for House members' priority projects such as PRESCRIPTION DRUGS for the elderly, Meals on Wheels, breast and cervical cancer care and school nurses. The twelve bills together appropriate $56.73 million in FY2002 and $132.36 million in FY2003 for a variety of health care related programs including an expansion of the state's Medicaid health insurance program for the indigent and disabled, a minority-group health initiative, programs to encourage people to quit smoking and to prevent people from beginning, a biosciences research institute, and a school of public health. [Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Apr 10, 2001]

• On April 2nd, Governor Mike Huckabee gave an address to a joint session of the Arkansas House and Senate. In the address, he stated that the tobacco companies had successfully managed to get people addicted to cigarettes. Because of that, money was awarded in the tobacco settlement cases to address the health problems that usage of cigarettes had caused. He urged the legislators to put aside politics and use the money to improve the HEALTH CARE of the people in Arkansas. "Unlike many states who are doing everything from building roads and making all kinds of unique and rather creative uses of their money, from the very beginning the one thing that has sort of unified all of us has been the idea that we would use this money to address the very serious health needs of the people in our state. [Arkansas House and Senate, April 2, 2001]

• On December 18th, Attorney General Mark Pryor signed papers certifying that the state had finally achieved finality on its tobacco settlement agreement. This means that within weeks the settlement funds will leave an escrow account and go into the state coffers. How the money will be spent will be dictated by the voter initiative approved in November (see below). This means the people of Arkansas will finally get the benefits of the settlement funds. [Arkansas Democrat Gazette, December 19, 2000]

• VICTORY on Nov. 7th on Proposed Initiated Act 1, the CHART measure which allocates the tobacco settlement funds largely to health programs, including AGING and TOBACCO PREVENTION AND CESSATION. With about 2/3 of the returns counted, the measure was far beyond the 50% needed votes; 389,408 votes for, versus 219,797 votes against. Governor Huckabee (D), who strongly supported the measure was thrilled, as were AGING and TOBACCO CONTROL groups. While the legislature could change the measure, it would take a 2/3 vote to do so, and that is not very likely. See below for specifics of what the measure will do. [Arkansas Democrat Gazette, November 8, 2000]

• Both the Arkansas Silver Haired Legislature (SHA) and the Arkansas Association of Area Agencies on Aging (AAAAA) are setting legislative priorities for the 2001 legislative session. The AAAAA priorities have been set and are likely to parallel the SHA ones when the SHA votes at its August 30th mock legislative session. The AAAAA is planning an ambitious legislative agenda which calls for substantially expanded IN-HOME SERVICES for ELDERS, as well as expanded and upgraded TRANSPORTATION SERVICES, and increased pay for nursing home staff. Both the AAAAA and SHA will support increased funding for MEALS PROGRAMS FOR ELDERS, and for INCREASING MEDICAID ELIGIBILITY LEVELS to 100% of poverty to increase the number of elders eligible by about 8000 to 9000 persons. Funding will be sought from a number of sources, including TOBACCO SETTLEMENT FUNDS, general revenues, and an increase in the CIGARETTE TAX. These groups are also strong supporters of the CHART ballot initiative (see below) on the November ballot. [Aging Arkansas, August, 2000]

• This note is simply to summarize the provisions of the November 7th ballot initiative which would direct how the settlement funds would have to be spent. The funds would be allocated as follows: 29% for TOBACCO PREVENTION AND CESSATION PROGRAMS; 8% into a trust fund; 21% for health care research; 15% to create an Arkansas School of Public Health; and 27% to expand health care coverage for prenatal care for pregnant women, EXPAND PRESCRIPTION DRUG BENEFITS AND IN-HOME PERSONAL CARE FOR SENIOR CITIZENS, increase hospital, medical and prescription benefits to Medicaid recipients (INCLUDING ELDERS AND MINORITIES), bring Medicaid eligibility up to 65% of the federal poverty level and raise it to 100% Medicaid eligibility in 5 years (BOTH OF WHICH WOULD BENEFIT ELDERS AND MINORITIES). While this article did not mention it, some of the funds would also go for MINORITY HEALTH PROGRAMS. [Benton County Daily Record, August 17, 2000]

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CALIFORNIA

Total: $25 billion; 1st paymt $306.3 million; 2nd paymt $818.4 million

Under the settlement, 50% of the total funds will go to the State of California; 40% will go to the 58 counties based on population size; and 10% will be split between the cities of San Francisco, San Jose, San Diego, and Los Angeles.

• Fairfield County 9/4: The number of poor area residents signing up for health coverage through the County Medical Services Program grows by 100 every month, and county officials increased the county's contribution for the program by $1 million Tuesday. CMSP extends ongoing, preventive health care to indigent patients, typically uninsured single adults who have chronic illnesses for which they cannot afford treatment. Believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, the pilot program started with about 2,500 enrollees in early 2002 and reached 3,200 enrollees a year later. As of last month, enrollment reached 3,900. While that shows that many residents are use the program and want to stay enrolled, it also means the budget estimate of $12.3 million for the program's second year was too low, said Moira Sullivan, assistant director for the county's Health and Social Services Department. The current projected cost is $14.3 million. Sullivan asked the Board of Supervisors to cover $1 million, half of the difference, using master tobacco settlement money that went unspent last year. The Board of Supervisors voted 4-0 to do that. [Fairfield Daily Republic, August 27, 2003]

• Mendocino County 6/27: The Mendocino County Tobacco Settlement Advisory Committee has announced the recipients of the second round of funding for the Tobacco Settlement Revenue, Technical Assistance Grant. The Board of Supervisors has designated approximately $100,000 per year to distribute for funding to organizations throughout the county. Covelo Community Services District: Ground and surface water contamination assessment, engineering studies and test plans in Round Valley. Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Mendocino County Planning and training of "Brain Gym," an innovative approach to learning through movement. [Mendocino Beacon, June 27, 2003]

• Ventura County 5/13: Much of the $8.3 million in tobacco settlement funding that Ventura County expects for the coming year should be used to shore up cash-strapped public health-care programs, government chief Johnny Johnston said. Johnston is recommending big reductions in funding for private doctors and hospitals, as well as smaller cuts to community health programs run by private nonprofit groups. Money saved from those reductions could then be funneled to the county's public hospital and mental health clinics to blunt the effects of expected cuts in state funding for the 2003-04 budget cycle, the county executive officer said. [Los Angeles Times, May 12, 2003]

• Ventura County 10/17: Ventura County supervisors agreed Tuesday to use $5.5 million in tobacco settlement money to bail out the county's cash-strapped public hospital and mental health agency, angering anti-smoking advocates who said the move would gut their own community health programs. Supervisors insisted they had little choice but to use a portion of the $9.6 million in tobacco funding that the county will receive this year to preserve core health programs. Providing mental health and hospital care for the poor is one of county government's basic functions, several supervisors said. Board Chairman John Flynn called it "a moral issue." [October 16, 2002]

• 9/30: The proposal that led to this debate was Governor Easley's plan to restart the state's economy. It has changed into something more ambitious, more generous and, to some, more worrisome. Both the cancer hospital and the biotechnology training center would be financed by obligating $25 million from the settlements of the national tobacco lawsuits. Anti-smoking groups say that obligating money for a cancer hospital and other projects from the trust fund depletes the money that could be directed toward new smoking prevention programs. Deborah Bryan, director of government relations for the American Lung Association of North Carolina, said the state focuses most of its resources now on medical treatment. "What is missing is the prevention piece," Bryan said. "It's a huge concern to us. We have neglected this arena of health for so long in this state." [Raleigh News & Observer, Sept. 30, 2002]

• Orange County 10/1: Marking the official start to a long-sought-after partnership, the Children and Families Commission of Orange County approved $28.5 million in funding over the next three years for a new initiative between the Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) and the University California Irvine (UCI) Medical Center to create a variety of innovative programs to improve pediatric healthcare throughout the county. "This is a milestone agreement long in the making," said Crystal Kochendorfer, chair of the Children and Families Commission of Orange County. "We are proud to be a part of the process bringing together two of the County's most valuable healthcare assets in providing children with early access to care and meeting the Commission's commitment that every child in Orange County starts school healthy and ready to learn." The Children and Families Commission of Orange County was created as a result of Proposition 10, the California Children and Families Act of 1998. [Business Wire, Sept. 30, 2002]

• Placer County 9/30: The Placer County Board of Supervisors has formally adopted a $421 million budget for the 2002-03 fiscal year. The spending and revenue report approved Tuesday marks a major increase from the past year's $333 million budget. The budget benefits from nearly $40 million from the settlement of a lawsuit against tobacco companies that sought to recover the costs counties incurred treating smokers. The money is earmarked for long-term building plans, including new criminal justice facilities in south Placer and a new building for the Planning Department at the DeWitt Center in north Auburn. The budget also adds $3 million for public safety. [Sacramento Bee, Sept. 29, 2002]

• California State 9/4: A bitterly divided California legislature ended a 61-day stalemate early this morning, passing a budget intended to address a $24 billion deficit that is growing deeper by the month. Critics said the plan relies on illusory savings and accounting gimmickry that would worsen the state's troubles. The budget borrows against anticipated revenue from the national tobacco settlement, Democrats got the deal by agreeing to drop an increase in fees for car registration and eliminating any new taxes on cigarettes. An earlier budget approved by the Democratic-controlled Senate would have raised almost $2 billion through those two taxes, but Republicans argued the taxes would place a disproportionate burden on poor and middle-income residents. The tobacco industry lobbied hard against the cigarette tax. [New York Times, Sept. 2, 2002]

• California State 7/23: California is "one of the most disappointing states" in the nation because the state's leaders are slashing funding for its highly successful tobacco prevention program, according to a national report issued today by the American Lung Association, American Cancer Society , American Heart Association and Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. The health groups urged Gov. Gray Davis and the Legislature to use 15 cents of the proposed 63-cent increase in the state cigarette tax to restore funding for tobacco prevention and to reject proposals to borrow against the state's future tobacco settlement funds to address the state's budget shortfall. According to the new report, California will fall from eighth to 20th in the nation in its funding of tobacco prevention if the state's leaders stick with plans to cut prevention funding by $61 million -- 45 percent -- from $134.5 million in Fiscal Year 2002 to $73.54 million in FY2003. The Legislature is still finalizing the state budget. [U.S. Newswire, July 22, 2002]

• Solano County 6/26: Solano County residents have a chance this week to help guide the ways tobacco settlement dollars are spent in their cities. The county gets about $4 million every year from the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, which resulted from lawsuits several states brought against major tobacco companies in 1997 to seek reimbursement for costs incurred by treating tobacco-related diseases. In 2000 the Board of Supervisors decided Solano County would spend the money only on programs that help increase access to health care and curb substance abuse. Such programs could include prevention education campaigns, youth development activities and training for merchants who sell alcohol or tobacco. [Fairfield Daily Republic, June 26, 2002]

• Fresno County 6/19: Fresno County supervisors Tuesday launched a plan to use tobacco money to help pay for a new juvenile justice campus. The county wants to raise $75 million for the campus by "securitizing" tobacco payments, which basically means taking cash up front by selling off the rights to annual settlement payments. "We've got to act now -- we can't sit and wait," board Chairman Bob Waterston said. "Everything's good right at this moment." The idea is to issue bonds in exchange for future tobacco settlement payments during the next 40 years or until the bonds are paid. [Fresno Bee, July 19, 2002]

• Ventura County 6/17: Hoping for the best and planning for the worst, Ventura County supervisors are warning health and law enforcement officials that their budgets may be pared further if state cuts are as severe as expected. Supervisors are considering dipping into tobacco settlement and public safety funds to make up for a projected $26-million loss of state revenue. Both proposals are controversial. Sheriff Bob Brooks has already vowed to fight any attempt to cut his $162-million budget. And a citizens committee that makes recommendations on tobacco settlement spending has made clear that it doesn't want that money to be used to close a revenue gap. [Los Angeles Times, June 17, 2002]

• Ventura County 6/9: County officials are eyeing the multimillion-dollar tobacco settlement as a way to blunt sharp cuts to public mental health and public health care programs proposed by the state for next year's budget. The move would cut money out of a wide range of community health-care services that received it in the past year, including prevention aimed at youths and emergency care provided by private physicians and hospitals. About $8 million was awarded to these "new" health-care projects this year. A citizens' oversight committee has recommended spending next year's $9.4 million allotment of the tobacco settlement money on similar programs. In addition, the oversight committee wants to use $15.7 million of unspent tobacco dollars from previous years as an endowment fund and a yet-to-be determined large-scale health-care project. Meanwhile, the county hospital, clinics and mental health programs face losing about $17.3 million -- $14.1 million in state dollars and $3.2 million in county funding -- in next year's budget, which begins July 1. County Executive Officer Johnny Johnston said the tobacco settlement dollars might be the only option the county has to patch up the public health safety net. [Ventura County Star, June 9, 2002]

• Butte County 5/15: Tobacco education and health care advocates don't want tobacco settlement money dropped into Butte County's general fund. With its siren shrieking and lights flashing, an Oroville Hospital ambulance pulled up in front of the Butte County Administration Office Tuesday morning to deliver petitions to qualify a measure for the November ballot to allocate money for tobacco use prevention and health care. Organizers of the FAIR (Full Allocation of Intended Revenues) campaign, which includes the American Cancer Society, American Lung Association, American Heart Association, Butte Glenn Medical Society, and others, say they have almost 12,000 signatures, more than enough to qualify their plan for the November 2002 ballot. To dramatize the emergency nature of the issue, the signatures were pulled from the ambulance and transported by gurney to the county-clerk recorder's elections office. "People are dying because of tobacco, and many are dying because of the deceptive and illegal practices of the tobacco industry," said Dr. Richard N. Gray, Jr., representing Butte-Glenn Medical Society. "The petitions are delivered in an emergency vehicle because we have an emergency." He described an emergency as a situation where "life or limb is in peril." The proposal would direct about 75 percent of the more than $2 million Butte County currently receives from a 1998 settlement . . . The FAIR initiative would ensure this money is spent as it was originally conceived, to reduce the harmful effects of tobacco consumption and diminish the burdensome health care costs of tobacco use, according to Bond. [Orville Mercury Register, May 15, 2002]

• Sacramento 5/15: Governor Gray Davis proposed raising taxes Tuesday on smokers and motorists to help overcome what has grown into a $23.6-billion budget shortfall, saying there was no other way to protect schools. The move reversed a promise Davis made in January not to ask for tax increases. The tax hikes--an $84 increase in the average vehicle license fee and a boost of 50 cents per pack in the cigarette tax--would total $1.75 billion, according to Davis' estimates. But although they probably will account for most of the Capitol's budget debate in coming weeks, they represent only a share of Davis' plan to fill the budget shortfall. Much of the gap would be closed by $7.6 billion in spending reductions, including deep cuts in health programs for the poor. Davis also relies heavily on various accounting shifts, budget transfers and loans, such as borrowing $4.5 billion against the state's future share of the national tobacco settlement and postponing some payments to schools. [Los Angeles Times, May 15, 2002]

• California State 5/14: The Board of Supervisors allocated $8 million of tobacco settlement funds in September to serve health-care needs countywide. For community-based organizations, a competitive process was held to determine the recipients in each targeted health-care area. The following programs are among those funded for this year. -- Tobacco prevention: The defeat of Measure O, the initiative to take the tobacco settlement funds away from public control, was driven in large part by residents' determination to see a significant portion of this money used to protect youth and adults from tobacco. This year, in schools, clubs and youth workshops, more than 15,000 children are receiving focused education on the risks of tobacco use. I can also report closure on the legal matter involving the Measure O ballot arguments and Community Memorial Hospital's lawsuit against the five Coalition Against Measure O ballot signers demanding they pay Community Memorial Hospital's legal fees. Several weeks ago, the coalition's attorney, Fred Woocher, was finally paid for the legal fees associated with the original lawsuits and subsequent appeals. -- David Maron of Camarillo is a businessman and serves as chairman of the Tobacco Evaluation/Oversight Committee. He chaired the Coalition Against Measure O. [Ventura County Star, May 14, 2002]

• California State 5/2: Ending speculation since the March election, county officials who strongly opposed Measure A say they'll enforce the initiative's mandate to spend the local share of tobacco settlement money on health care. The proposed budget to be presented to the Board of Supervisors on May 21 distributes this year's roughly $2.5 million installment of the settlement as required by the ballot measure, county Assistant Administrator Gail Wilcox confirmed. Measure A garnered more than 62 percent approval in the March 5 election. "We're going to comply with the will of the voters," Supervisor Katcho Achadjian said Wednesday. Officials have given few details on why they changed their stance. [San Luis Obispo News, May 2, 2002]

• California State 4/5: With state budget revenue estimates worsening by the day, Gov. Gray Davis has a contingency plan to borrow as much as $4 billion from future tobacco settlement funds -- money that otherwise would pay for cancer treatment and health care for poor children. The Democratic governor initially wanted to borrow $2.4 billion of tobacco funds, but he is considering more after estimates of the gap between state revenues and expenditures widened from an initial $12.5 billion to $17.5 billion for the fiscal year beginning July 1. Some health groups oppose the idea, saying it would cut state spending on health care and violate the intent of the tobacco settlement -- using tobacco company money to pay for tobacco-related illnesses. "It's almost like the tobacco industry is winning, because the money won't be going toward what we think it should be, and that's fighting tobacco," said Ann Goure, a spokeswoman for the American Cancer Society. Besides worrying health groups, the borrowing would put California taxpayers on the hook for an expensive long-term debt that would not be paid off until 2026. [San Francisco Chronicle, April 4, 2002]

• Contra Costa County 4/1: Contra Costa is the only Bay Area county that does not spend money from a national tobacco settlement on smoking prevention programs. Though the Board of Supervisors can allocate the money as it sees fit, the county's Tobacco Prevention Coalition -- a group of 41 individuals and agencies -- sensed flush times following the 1998 agreement between the tobacco industry and the attorneys general of 44 states. Contra Costa's share has come to more than $20 million over the past two years, none of which has been allotted to tobacco-related programs. The money first became available in 2000. Since then, supervisors have allocated the entire county portion to the Health Services Department, which has used it to provide medical services for uninsured residents. The practice rankles coalition members, who say at least a portion should go toward tobacco-education campaigns. The coalition wants supervisors to set aside $650,000 from the settlement to fund youth and ethnic community anti-smoking programs. "It's a modest request, it's minimal," said Janet Abbott, coalition co-chairwoman. "And it's really the honest way to go, because the public already believes the money is going toward tobacco prevention." But with many state revenue sources uncertain at best, Contra Costa supervisors say they likely will continue to use the money to shore up the Health Services Department budget. Supervisors last week acknowledged the importance of tobacco-use prevention, but said the settlement money should pay for the most pressing need, health care for low-income families. [Contra Costa Times, March 31, 2002]

• Butte County 3/19: A ridge doctor claims Butte County officials are plotting to prevent voters from deciding how more than $2 million a year in public funds is spent. But interim County Administrative Officer Lawrence Odle and Treasurer-Tax Collector Dick Puelicher said Dr. Richard Gray is wrong. A plan to "securitize" funds has nothing to do with the proposed election, they said. At issue is about $2.2 million in tobacco-settlement money that flows to Butte County annually. Gray and others want the money spent on anti-tobacco education and to reimburse doctors and hospitals for treating patients with tobacco-related ailments. Gray said the money was intended for these purposes. He called the county's current practice of using it for general purposes unethical. "It burns me that they would try to keep the voting public from having a voice," he said. But Odle said in no way are he and other county officials trying to prevent a vote. And the county is already spending millions on indigent care and other tobacco-related health programs, including education efforts, he added. [Chico Enterprise-Record, March 19, 2002]

• Ventura County 3/6: Ventura County's private and nonprofit hospitals are planning to use their $900,000 share of tobacco settlement money to pay for seismic retrofits on aging facilities and to help cover the cost of providing health care to uninsured patients. Under an agreement that the Board of Supervisors is expected to approve today, each of the seven hospitals would receive up to $90,000 for securing boilers, ventilation equipment and other fixtures that could come crashing down during an earthquake. The hospitals are also entitled to recoup the costs of treating uninsured patients who arrive in emergency rooms. Total compensation available to each hospital varies, from $163,000 for St. John's Regional Medical Center in Oxnard to $98,000 for Los Robles Regional Medical Center in Thousand Oaks. [Los Angeles Times, March 6, 2002]

• San Luis Obispo County 2/6: County supervisors are to introduce a proposed ordinance today designed to undermine Measure A by designating that tobacco settlement funds be used for local health-related programs. Under the California formula, San Luis Obispo County will receive about $2.5 million a year for the next 20 years. Measure A, which voters will decide March 5, specifies how the county's share of the master tobacco settlement agreement should be spent over the next 20 years. Supporters of the measure say that even with the new county ordinance, the supervisors could later divert the money to pay for filling potholes or other budget priorities. The supervisors call Measure A a money grab by doctors and hospital administrators who would receive 29 percent of the settlement funds if voters approve and the courts uphold the measure. [San Luis Obispo News, Feb. 5, 2002]

• California State 1/24: The largest single piece of Governor Gray Davis' plan to patch a $12 billion hole in the state budget may face a tougher-than-expected fight in the Legislature, California's two ranking Democrats said Wednesday. Leaders of the state Senate and Assembly said Davis' plan to borrow against California's tobacco-settlement money likely will be targeted by health advocates who feel it will hurt poor people in the long run. And that could make it hard for lawmakers to support. "It won't be a slam dunk," said Senate President Pro Tem John Burton, D-San Francisco. "I'm not saying it won't get through. But there's going to be a lot of opposition to it." Davis wants the Legislature to mortgage a portion of the billions the state receives from the tobacco industry in settlement of a federal lawsuit. The governor would borrow $2.4 billion this year and pay it back with a portion of the $10.8 billion settlement over the next two decades. Much of the money that comes from those payments, however, is earmarked for health programs. "And a lot of health advocates and others won't want to take that money away," Burton said. But the tobacco-settlement money is "a huge chunk" of the governor's plan to bridge the budget deficit, Davis spokesman Steve Maviglio said. "If this doesn't pass, the Legislature is going to have to start looking for a lot of other cuts." [The Record, Jan. 24, 2002]

• San Diego County 1/18: San Diego County government is providing $4.3 million to 19 area hospitals that are grappling with the rising costs of providing emergency medical services. The Board of Supervisors on Tuesday unanimously voted to share money received from a national tobacco lawsuit settlement with the hospitals. The vote was part of an effort, spurred by the Sept. 11 attacks and subsequent anthrax scares, to improve the region's ability to respond to disasters and terrorism. [San Diego Union Tribune, Jan. 17, 2002]

• California State 1/14: If Governor Gray Davis has his way, California will become the largest state to borrow from future tobacco settlement revenues to fill gaps in its budget. Tapping into the promise of future tobacco settlement money to sell bonds is becoming more popular as states look for ways to close massive budget shortfalls for the first time in years. Advocates call it a smart way to secure a quick lump sum of cash, while others call it an expensive risk that is contrary to the settlement's intent of paying for anti-smoking efforts. "It's sort of seen as easy money," said Jean Ross, executive director of the California Budget Project. Forty-six states sued tobacco companies in 1998 to recoup health-related expenses associated with tobacco use. The resulting $206 billion settlement provides payments of billions of dollars each year to states for at least the next 25 years, based on tobacco sales. Already, governments spend the yearly revenues on a variety of items, including closing shortfalls. It's been more recently, however, that states have looked at selling bonds -- called securitizing -- to pocket more of the money up front. States nationwide are feeling the effects of a recession, the high-tech industry collapse and the fiscal fallout from the Sept. 11 attacks. [Associated Press, Jan. 11, 2002]

• Los Angeles County 12/20: Brushing aside concerns that the money should be saved for Los Angeles County's looming health crisis, the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved $3.5 million in anti-tobacco spending. Four supervisors relied on medical officials' arguments that the money would combat smoking and therefore keep health costs lower in the future. But the lone opponent, Supervisor Gloria Molina, said she was alarmed that her colleagues wanted to continue a well-intentioned program given the $1-billion deficit that their health department soon will face. The money will go to groups in the supervisors' districts for various measures to discourage smoking. "While there's a lot of money being spent with all these organizations and some of them are doing a good job, priority of priorities, this is not a good use of dollars," Molina said, noting that hospitals and clinics may be closed in coming years. [Los Angeles Times, Dec. 19, 2001]

• Ventura County 12/18: Ventura County's Terrorism Working Group is among 22 organizations across the county that will divvy up $1.2 million in public health funding, officials said Monday. Money will be used for a variety of nonprofit programs, from a public awareness campaign about bioterrorism to expanded cancer screenings for the working poor. Free dental clinics, more investigation into elder abuse, and school-based public health programs will also receive the grants announced by Public Health Director Paul Lorenz. Funding comes from $10 million the county receives each year from its participation in a states' lawsuit against major tobacco manufacturers. The rest was distributed earlier this year. A citizens advisory group recommended that the $1.2 million be distributed to community groups that can demonstrate emerging needs in certain areas, from communicable diseases to tobacco education. [Los Angeles Times, Dec. 18, 2001]

• Sacramento County 12/13: Caught off-guard by rising cost estimates, Sacramento County supervisors complained to staff Tuesday that the budget process for major construction projects is confusing and undermines public trust in government. The sticker shock included a report that the primary care clinic's cost is expected to jump from $30 million to $41.4 million. In a separate report, the Board of Supervisors learned the previously approved price of $6 million for a new animal shelter and parks department complex at Mather Commerce Center has more than doubled to $15 million. The news surprised and clearly troubled board members, who committed funding to both projects last year from a total of $104 million in tobacco-litigation settlement funds earmarked for big-ticket construction projects and purchases. The animal-care site is among eight major projects approved by supervisors in the past year at a cost of about $165 million. The board has set aside $80.7 million for the projects from the tobacco settlement, and $10 million more from grants and proceeds from past bond sales has been earmarked by staff. [Sacramento Bee, Dec. 12, 2001]

• San Diego County 12/10: A San Diego Superior Court judge, Ronald S. Prager, ruled that an advertising campaign by the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company violated the 1998 settlement in a nationwide tobacco lawsuit, which bans many types of outdoor advertising for tobacco products, including billboards. The lawsuit challenged the outdoor promotion of Nascar Winston Cup and drag racing events. It is one of three cases that the state attorney general, Bill Lockyer, has brought accusing R. J. Reynolds of violating the settlement. [New York Times, Dec. 8, 2001]

• California State 11/13: California counties got a windfall that will total more than $10 billion over 25 years from the tobacco settlement. But counties aren't spending the money on smoking cessation and anti-tobacco campaigns. Instead, financially strapped counties are using it for various projects, including an animal shelter, road repairs, debt repayment or just to prop up general funds. Of the $1.2 billion doled out to local governments so far, only 18 percent has been invested in health programs. Less than 6 percent has gone to prevent smoking, according to figures calculated by the Tobacco Industry Monitoring Project, a state-supported program based at the University of Southern California. The 58 counties and three cities each receive an annual payment based on population and tobacco sales, as part of the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement with major tobacco manufacturers. But not enough of that money is going "to adequately fight the tobacco industry's campaign to recruit new smokers," said Paul Knepprath, vice president of government relations for the American Lung Association of California. [Associated Press, Nov. 11, 2001]

• Orange County 9/26: The Orange County Board of Supervisors on September 25, 2001 approved spending $5.7 million to expand delivery of basic health care to the poor through a coalition of community clinics. The money, which comes from the county's share of tobacco settlement, will be used to help support 29 clinics operated by 17 organizations, said Marty Earlabaugh-Gordon, executive director of the Coalition of Orange County Community Clinics. Earlabaugh-Gordon describes the funding as "a sound investment in community clinics that will strengthen the ability of the coalition to provide clinical health-care services." Last year, the clinics provided medical care for 133,000 people during 366,000 visits. The measure was approved 4 to 0, with Supervisor Tom Wilson absent. Supervisor Jim Silva said the money would help reduce overcrowding in hospital emergency rooms -- often the only place of treatment for those without insurance. "Community clinics really fill a gap," Silva said. The coalition, which began in 1974, serves as an advocate and grant-seeker for community health clinics. Its main focus is getting health care to the elderly, the poor and the uninsured. [Los Angeles Times, Sept. 26, 2001]

• Ventura County 9/26: On September 25, 2001 after rejecting a last-ditch effort to increase dollars for anti-smoking programs, Ventura County supervisors approved an $8-million expansion in health care services ranging from immunizations and dental work to creation of a psychiatric residency program at the county hospital. Supervisors thanked a volunteer citizens group that made recommendations on how to spend the county's share of the tobacco settlement funds. The citizens group advised supervisors to spend 15% of tobacco settlement revenue for anti-smoking efforts. Many California counties have followed that guideline, but nationally just 5% of the money has been used to help Americans kick the cigarette habit. Board Chairman Frank Schillo noted that public schools receive $400,000 a year in cigarette taxes to educate children about the dangers of smoking. And other supervisors questioned the effectiveness of some education programs in preventing smoking. Anti-smoking activist vowed they will be back next year to again push for higher funding. [Los Angeles Times, Sept. 26, 2001]

• Bakersfield 9/12: On August 29th, County Supervisors in Bakersfield wrapped up work on the county budget for the current fiscal year, which began on July 1 and runs until June 30, 2002. In order to offset a substantial revenue shortfall, the Supervisors raided the tobacco settlement fund and used $18.7 million of these funds to help balance the budget. The settlement funds will be used to fund the Kern Medical Center, to replenish the county's tax litigation reserves, and to pay for maintenance work and a few capital improvement projects. While Supervisors said they did not want to use the settlement funds for these purposes, they did. [Bakersfield Californian, Aug. 30, 2001]

• Sacramento County: 9/12: Sacramento County has become the first county in California to sell its share of its settlement money, in the form of bonds, in order to get a one-time payment of about $172 million. The county has now decided to use $69.( million of that to go into a fund for health youth and TOBACCO EDUCATION programs. An additional $102 million will be spent as follows: $40 million for juvenile hall expansion; $30 million for a new primary care clinic; $15 million for cleaner burning garbage trucks; $6 million for a new animal shelter; and $5.2 million for libraries in Carmichael and Rio Linda. [Sacramento Bee, Aug. 31, 2001]

• Ventura County: Long-awaited dollars to help Ventura County's doctors and hospitals recover the costs of unpaid medical bills are on their way, along with money to expand health-care programs. An advisory committee agreed that the county's public hospital and county-run health programs should receive the largest share--at least $4 million--of the $8 million in tobacco settlement funds available this year. Another $1.8 million should be divided between private hospitals and doctors to cover uncompensated health care for treating uninsured patients, and $1.2 million should be earmarked for tobacco education and prevention programs, the group decided last week. Members of the committee said they are relieved that after five months of meetings, and criticism that they were moving too slowly, their work is nearly done. [Los Angeles Times, August 20, 2001]

• Statewide:During the end of July, California lawmakers passed a $103.3 billion budget. While we were unable to finds specifics, the budget highlights specified that the $402 million from the tobacco settlement funds "will be used solely for health care programs, including expanded health coverage for the uninsured, cancer research and treatment, and ANTI-TOBACCO efforts." Included in that money is an expansion of the Healthy Families Program for children and to 250 percent of the federal poverty level and $20 million to provide grants to local nonprofit organizations to reduce smoking among teens and college-aged youth. An additional $475 million will be given to local governments in California. Unlike in past budgets, the budget specified that "these funds may be used for any public health purpose deemed a local priority." Although the money will not be coming from the tobacco settlement funds, AGING ADVOCATES might be interested to know that the Senior Citizens Property Tax and Renters' Tax Assistance, a program for low-income seniors and disabled individuals will be permanently increased by 45 percent above the level of benefits provided in 1999; this will cost an additional $75 million in 2001-2002. [Budget Highlights, State Budget, 2001-2002]

• Sacramento County: On June 17th, TCSG learned from the Northern California Senior Legal Hotline (NCSLH) that they have just been awarded a contract from Sacramento County for $50,000 over the next three years to provide legal education for older persons on various health subjects. In addition, it appears that NCSLH will also receive $15,500 to pay for an outcomes study of this project. The money for this comes from the tobacco settlement funds that Sacramento County receives each year.

• Stanislaus County:On June 12th, the Board of Supervisors authorized $6 million to be spent to build community centers and improve streets in Stanislaus County. The board earmarked $4 million for street work in Empire and in the Shackelford School and Robertson Road areas in south and southwest Modesto. The other $2 million will pay for a community center in Grayson and the community hall portion of government buildings in Salida and Waterford. The county executive's office had recommended spreading another $2 million from the tobacco settlement among nonprofit groups, based on proposals to be submitted this summer, but the Supervisors agreed to discuss this before making a decision, and they may target efforts that help people get health care. [The Modesto Bee, June 13, 2001]

• San Joaquin County: While it has been over two years since they have received the tobacco settlements money, officials are just getting around to deciding how it should be allocated. As of April 2nd, officials said the majority of the money has been earmarked for the county hospital. Of the $13.5 million they have received thus far, officials have allocated $10 million to the second phase of a reconstruction project at San Joaquin General Hospital, $2.7 million for technology upgrades (to be used mainly for a new communication system for the sheriff's and fire emergency medical departments), and $170,000 for road improvements. Over the next ten years, county officials expect an additional $62.7 million. Long-term plans for this money include $25.1 million for health care facilities, $12.6 million for road maintenance and construction, $12.5 million for capital improvement projects and $12.5 million for new technology. [Modesto Bee, April 2, 2001]

• Orange County: On December 19th, the Orange County Supervisors agreed to hire 23 new employees, including nurses, analysts and health educators to help determine how more than $14 million in settlement funds will be distributed this year to hospitals, clinics and health programs. The money being split is just the money for this current year. Future settlement funds will go entirely for health care, per the voter initiative approved in November, unless the Supervisors succeed in their lawsuit to have it stricken. Juliette A. Poulson, interim director of the county Health Care Agency, said the new employees will review existing and new programs that target health needs. Under the plan, 14 positions wiull provide outreach services to OLDER ADULTS and those in the county who lack basic health care. Employees, including public-health nurses and social workers, will visit homes, family resource centers and SENIOR CENTERS tjo conduct health assessments, education, screenings, referrals and case managment. Other positions will be used to provide planning support and monitoring of health education campaigns, alcohol and drug treatment and TOBACCO PREVENTION AND CESSATION programs. In addition, funds were approved to hire two staff analysts to support additional contract services and one to serve as the project manager for tobacco-settlement services. [Los Angeles Times, December 20, 2000]

• On July 13th, a lawsuit was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court on behalf of six Medicaid recipients who are seeking a share of the settlement proceeds that will be coming to California. The lawsuit is seeking class action status on behalf of tens of thousands of low-income and disabled Medicaid patients who have been treated, or expect to be treated, for smoking-related illnesses, according to John Rowell, the plaintiffs' attorney. The suit claims that Medicaid recipients are entitled to whatever settlement funds are left over after the state recovers the money it spent to treat smoking-related illnesses. As such, the suit should not affect state-specific finality of the California settlement because it deals with how the money will be spent, not elements of the settlement itself. Similar suits have been filed in Florida, Wisconsin and Colorado (see State Updates below for these states). [Bloomberg, July 13, 1999]

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COLORADO

Total:$2.7 billion; 1st paymt $32.9 million; 2nd paymt $87.9 million

• 1/19: The state Joint Budget Committee has nixed Governor Owens' proposal to securitize the state's tobacco funds, a move that will - for now - leave intact tobacco education and cessation efforts. [Vail Daily News, January 18, 2004]

• 5/2: State Treasurer Mike Coffman summed up Colorado's use of its share of a national tobacco lawsuit settlement: "Not one dime of this money goes to an injured smoker," Coffman said. Very little of it has gone to pay for health-related spending of any kind. The state's politicians have raided a revenue source intended to make up for public payments for smoking-related illnesses. They have turned it into a Ponzi scheme of public administration. Because of the raids on the tobacco funds, the Children's Basic Health Plan is about to turn kids away from a program that pays medical expenses for kids of the working poor. "It's boggling to us that the program that could help solve the problem that led to the tobacco settlement has been gutted," said Chris Sherwin, executive director of the Colorado Tobacco Education and Prevention Alliance. [Denver Post, April 28, 2003]

• 3/27: State Treasurer Mike Coffman warned Wednesday that Colorado's fiscal problems might force the state to risk more than half of its $2.9 billion tobacco settlement to raise enough money for an emergency reserve. Coffman, whose office would handle the money-raising transaction, said now is a bad time to go to the market, in part because competition among states will make interest rates higher, and because of a negative credit watch for tobacco-settlement money. He plans to meet with investment bankers today to see exactly how bad the situation is. Under a plan to be presented to the legislature next week as part of the 2003-04 budget, Colorado would pledge roughly $1.4 billion of its $2.9 billion settlement to investors - most likely to an investment firm that would then sell bonds. [Denver Post, Mar. 27, 2003]

• 3/6: Local health and human service nonprofits are looking to Denver nervously this week, as the state Legislature works on a budget for the upcoming year. A proposal to shift money from the state's share of the national Tobacco Settlement Fund from health programs into transportation and other areas is of particular concern, say officials at nonprofit health and human service organizations. Groups like the Valley Partnership for Drug Prevention in Aspen and the Family Visitor Program in Glenwood Springs are likely to lose funding if the shift is made. Mountain Valley Developmental Services, which works with developmentally disabled residents and their families, is also facing cuts. [Aspen Times, March 6, 2003]

• 10/25: Colorado lawmakers say they will look at plans to sell part of the state's $2.9 billion national tobacco case settlement to plug part of the current $400 million hole in the state budget. Members on the state's budget panel Tuesday confirmed they will review those proposals. The plan could jeopardize $75 million in health and reading programs for poor children funded with tobacco dollars, but it also could save taxpayer-funded state programs and avoid layoffs for now. The impact on programs is not yet known. "We'll look at all possibilities," said Sen. Peggy Reeves, Democratic vice chairwoman of the Joint Budget Committee, which would make the recommendation to the full legislature. "I have a feeling that what we'll end up needing to do is cut tobacco-funded programs. You can't keep scaling back everything and make it work." [Associated Press, Oct. 23, 2002]

• 10/17: PAGOSA SPRINGS - The $109 million in the Colorado's tobacco trust fund is gone, spent by Gov. Bill Owens to pay down the debt in the wake of an emergency - wildfire fighting - says the manager of advocacy for state anti-tobacco groups. The governor's office presented a different version. Chris Quint, appearing for the Colorado Tobacco Education and Prevention Alliance, spoke to a group of tobacco educators, including several from the San Luis Valley, here last week. He explained that the Legislature permitted Owens to divert the tobacco trust fund dollars into the general fund and then use them in the event of an emergency. The emergency was the budget shortfall. Quint said tobacco prevention and education would receive about $15 million a year from the tobacco settlement over the next 25 years. The state will receive about $100 million a year for that period for use in a variety of programs. But the trust fund is gone. Dan Hopkins, the governor's press secretary, said Monday that no tobacco settlement money went into fighting the wildfire emergency, although the Owens administration has borrowed from the fund by expressed authority of the Legislature. [Pueblo Chieftain, Oct. 15, 2002]

• 3/18: Some of Colorado's tobacco settlement windfall could go up in smoke - but some see it as a sign of success, not reason for alarm. In a pointed warning, the Council of State Governments predicted last week that tobacco settlement funds for states could be about 20 percent less than expected over the next decade. The reasons: Fewer people are smoking, plus the tobacco giants who signed the settlement agreement in 1998 have seen their market share start peeling off to smaller companies not covered by the pact. If trends continue, Colorado's share could fall several hundred million dollars short of the $2.7 billion projected over 25 years, said council spokeswoman Julia Nienaber. Colorado spends the money - $299 million since 1999 - on literacy, health and anti-tobacco programs. [B&W NewsReal, March 13, 2002]

• 2/25: An angry Sen. Norma Anderson gave up the fight Wednesday over her bill that limited the cost to tobacco companies of appealing when they lose lawsuits. But the Lakewood Republican didn't give up without a few choice fighting words aimed at those who attacked her for carrying SB 8. "There has been so much misleading and incorrect information extended on this bill that I've made this decision (to let it die)," Anderson told lawmakers. "I may have the votes in here to pass the bill, but I do not want to put the rest of you in the same position I've been put in. I think I've been called every name in the book for the first time in my 16 years of being here -- even a political whore." Her bill would have set a $25 million cap on the appeal bond that could be required of some tobacco companies. The cap applied to companies that are paying millions to Colorado and other states as part of a legal settlement. Anderson said she wanted to safeguard the $100 million a year that Colorado now gets from the settlement by ensuring tobacco firms weren't forced into bankruptcy by high appeal bonds. She ran into a buzz saw of opposition, including a full page ad in the Rocky Mountain News on Tuesday by the Colorado Tobacco Education and Prevention Alliance blasting the bill as "special protection for big tobacco." Before she laid the bill on the table, a move to kill it, Anderson said the groups who have led the opposition "are the same ones who have their hands out to spend the tobacco settlement money." [Rocky Mountain News, Feb. 21, 2002]

• 2/13: A bill critics say gives the tobacco industry an edge in fighting lawsuits got a new breath of life Monday. The bill slipped out of the Senate Judiciary Committee two weeks ago over stiff opposition and then was temporarily derailed. A parliamentary move by the committee chairman delayed the bill. But Sen. Rob Hernandez, D-Denver, joined Republicans Monday to send SB 8 to the full Senate on a 4-3 vote. Hernandez said he agreed to reconsider his vote after the first committee action, which allowed for the delay, only as a favor to Sen. Ken Gordon, D-Denver, the committee chairman. But Hernandez said that he hasn't changed his mind on the legislation. The bill by Sen. Norma Anderson, R-Lakewood, sets a $25 million limit on the bonds some tobacco companies must post to appeal a civil suit. The cap would apply to any tobacco company that has signed off on the settlement of a national lawsuit by agreeing to pay millions to Colorado and most other states. Anderson said she'll change the cap to $100 million on the Senate floor. Anderson said the bill merely protects tobacco companies from being forced into bankruptcy over a civil court action. That would threaten the 1998 settlement, which pumps roughly $100 million into Colorado annually. [Rocky Mountain News, Feb. 12, 2002]

• 2/6: A tobacco bill that was sidetracked by a parliamentary move will be back in the Senate Judiciary Committee next week for a vote. Sen. Ken Gordon, D-Denver, said he'll ask the committee once again to vote on SB 8 Monday. The bill initially was approved by his committee but called back when Gordon convinced Sen. Rob Hernandez, D-Denver, to reconsider his vote. Republicans called it an "underhanded way" to defeat the bill and little more than a "pocket veto," which is barred by the Colorado Constitution. At the time, Gordon refused to say whether he would have another vote on the measure. The bill declares that tobacco companies can be required to post an appeal bond of no more than $25 million in civil litigation. It's designed to prevent those companies from being forced into potential bankruptcy. [Rocky Mountain News, Feb. 5, 2002]

• 10/3: After hours of clashing behind the scenes, four lawmakers on Tuesday Oct. 2, 2001 hammered out a compromise to help fund cancer treatment for uninsured women until 2009 using both tobacco-settlement money and taxpayer dollars. Late Tuesday, the Senate gave final approval to Senate Bill 12 and sent it to the House for consideration. The measure would match federal dollars at a 65-35 split to pay for breast and cervical cancer treatment. The state's 35 percent portion through 2003 would come from interest accumulated from money that pays for tobacco prevention and smoking cessation. After 2003, money would shift from tobacco interest to taxpayer revenue, which many believe is a more stable, long-term source of funding. [Denver Post, Oct. 3, 2001]

• 9/18: Attorney General Ken Salazar has filed a lawsuit against seven foreign tobacco companies for failing to pay their escrow obligations under a Colorado tobacco law. The lawsuits were brought under a law enacted in 1999 as part of the implementation of the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement with the major domestic tobacco companies. Tobacco companies that are not parties to the agreement are required to pay approximately one cent into escrow accounts for each cigarette that they sell in Colorado. Salazar said failure of the manufacturers to comply with the escrow funds law could result in the termination of their right to sell cigarettes in Colorado, and a penalty of up to 300% of the amount improperly held from escrow for knowing violations. The escrow amounts currently past due total approximately $15,000. [Wall Street Journal, Sept. 18, 2001]

• On June 13th, thirteen research teams were awarded $6 million from the settlement money. In its first round of awards, the Colorado Tobacco Research Program funded studies of smoking-related illnesses, the effectiveness of PREVENTION PROGRAMS, and public attitudes about smoking. Up to 8 percent of the annual payments will go toward tobacco and substance-abuse research. [Rocky Mountain News, June 15, 2001]

• As of May 29th, Colorado had received more than $200 million from the tobacco settlement. This money has been allocated to seven different causes: reading programs for youth, tobacco education and prevention, children's health insurance, tobacco research, nurse home visitor programs, low income health care, and the Veteran's trust fund. While these may all be good programs, only two of the seven have anything directly to do with tobacco and not a dime of the money is going to help the people whose suffering spawned the lawsuit - victims of emphysema, lung cancer, and other smoking-related illnesses. Nurse Mary White, who treats such patients as a supervisor of cardiopulmonary rehabilitation at Montrose Memorial hospital, said some of the money should be helping them. Instead of suffering through their last years tied to home and an oxygen concentrator, more patients should be able to obtain education, drugs, and portable liquid oxygen that would allow them to live active lives, White said. [Rocky Mountain News, May 29, 2001]

• On August 16th, the state Department of Public Health and Environment announced the awarding of the first $615,000 of settlement money to go for TOBACCO PREVENTION AND CESSATION PROGRAMS. The money went to a number of county health departments, among others. [The Gazette, August 19, 2000]

• On May 2nd, legislators again rejected endorsing a bill backed by the State Treasurer which would have authorized the state to issue bonds backed by settlement funds, in return for a big up-front payment, but a large payment also to the investment houses that would have helped the state arrange the offering. This probably kills the bill for this session. [Denver Post, May 3, 2000]

• On April 27th, the House and Senate agreed on a tobacco settlement bill, SB 71, sponsored by Senator Norma Anderson (R) and Representative Marcy Morrison (R), and sent it to Governor Owens, who is expected to sign it. The bill allocates the anticipated approximately $100 million annually in settlement funds as follows: 19% up to $20 million for Owens' Read-to-Achieve literacy program; about $3 million, increasing to $19 million, annually for a nurse home-visit program for low-income parents; 15% or about $15 million for ANTI-TOBACCO PROGRAMS; 10% up to $10 million for the Children's Health Insurance Program; 6% or about $6 million into grants for community health centers; 8% for tobacco-related research; 1%, or about $1 million annually, for health needs of AGING VETERANS; and the remainder into a trust fund out of which interest could be spent in the future. The trust fund apparently will start out getting about 38% of the annual funds, but this will decrease to 19% over the years; at the same time, the visiting nurse program would start out getting 3% of the funds, but this would increase by 2% annually until it reaches 19% over time. Meanwhile, the legislature is still trying to decide whether to pass HB 1454, a bill backed by State Treasurer Coffman, which would authorize the state to issue bonds backed by the settlement funds in order to get a large up-front payment which would then be invested , with interest to be spent on the various programs. There are strong advocates for the bill, and equally strong opponents of it, including TOBACCO CONTROL GROUPS. The legislature hopes to adjourn by May 3rd, so it isn't clear what will happen to HB 1454. If it passed, all the foregoing dollar amounts would be altered significantly. [Denver Post, April 28, 2000 and Pueblo Chieftain, April 29, 2000]

• A Durango man has filed a lawsuit in Federal District court, seeking class action status, and claiming a share of the settlement funds for Medicaid recipients in Colorado who have smoking-related illnesses. His attorney, William Zimsky, says that the suit is similar to one filed recently in Wisconsin [another such suit was filed recently in Florida] (see below for info on both suits), which also claims that, under the federal Medicaid law, recipients are entitled to part of the settlement funds which the Medicaid program did not spend for the treatment of tobacco-related illnesses. Former Attorney General Gale Norton disputed the claim, saying that Colorado was one of the few states which did not file their lawsuit based on the Medicaid statutes. This suit does have the potential to inject itself into the debate over how the settlement funds will be spent, when the legislature and Governor re-visit this issue next session. [Rocky Mountain News & Reuters, May 19, 1999]

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CONNECTICUT

Total: $3.6 billion; 1st paymt $44.6 million; 2nd paymt $119 million

• 8/30: Democratic gubernatorial candidate Bill Curry on Monday unveiled his first television spot of the campaign, challenging Republican Gov. John G. Rowland on Connecticut's fiscal problems. In the 30-second ad, Curry looks into the camera and says: "Gov. Rowland, you inherited all the revenue from a new income tax, two new casinos, billions in a tobacco settlement and the Wall Street boom of the century. "Now, Connecticut faces a billion dollar deficit, and we are the most indebted state in the nation. What did you do with the money?" "It really does frame the debate," said Roy Occhiogrosso, [Newsday, August 26, 2002]

• 4/8: Faced with a growing budget deficit, Gov. John G. Rowland's administration is looking at a longshot option. Instead of collecting the tobacco money at the current rate of roughly $100 million a year for 25 years, officials are considering whether to sell off the rights to several years' worth of payments. The up side is that Connecticut could swiftly rake in millions of dollars to close the gaping hole in the state budget, and perhaps stave off further tax increases or spending cuts. The down side is that a financial firm or whoever else "buys" the tobacco money would likely pay less than full value. Some experts say Connecticut might reap less than $40 million for one year's worth of tobacco payments. "I would say (selling tobacco money) is being looked at, but we haven't arrived at a point where we think it is advisable," said Marc Ryan, Rowland's budget chief. "I'm very, very suspicious about this but, given the situation we are in, we are looking at it." Connecticut isn't alone in considering such an action. [Danbury News-Times, April 7, 2002]

• 2/6: Anti-smoking advocates and municipal officials are again pushing for legislation that would allow towns to ban smoking in public places. West Hartford-based MATCH, or Mobilize Against Tobacco for Children's Health, said Monday that communities should have the right to ban smoking in restaurants, shops and other public areas. Under a 1993 state law, smoking was banned in municipal and state buildings. As part of a compromise agreement, municipalities were not allowed to enact their own smoking regulations. Legislation giving control back to municipalities was proposed last year but was killed in the final days of the session. [Hartford Courant, Feb. 4, 2002]

• 1/21: Even though Connecticut has received hundreds of millions of dollars from tobacco related lawsuits, state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is still worried about smoking as a health risk. "One statistic says it all: The average age that people begin to smoke in Connecticut is 11 years old," Blumenthal said in a written statement. Blumenthal said Tuesday he is disappointed that Governor John Rowland wants to use money obtained in lawsuits against the tobacco industry to balance the state's budget. Blumenthal wants to use a larger percentage of the money for anti-smoking campaigns. A recent report by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids ranks Connecticut 45th out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia in terms of using funds from the 1998 Master Tobacco Settlement to educate children about the dangers of tobacco use. "As citizens of a state with a proud record of leadership in public health, we ought to be outraged and embarrassed by this report," Blumenthal said in a press release. [Yale Daily News, Jan. 18, 2002]

• 1/17: The state belongs in a "tobacco hall of shame" because of the way it has used money from the settlement of lawsuits against the tobacco industry, state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said today. Gov. John G. Rowland has proposed using more money from the settlement to help balance the state's budget. Blumenthal has advocated using the money for programs designed to prevent smoking. "The proposal to raid the Tobacco and Health Trust Fund is a short-term fix with devastating long-term effects," said Blumenthal, whose lawsuit against five major tobacco companies four years ago led to the settlement. According to the General Assembly's nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis, the state will have received nearly $400 million from the tobacco industry by the end of the fiscal year in June. Of that money, $336 million has gone to support the overall state budget, $5 million was directly allocated to fight smoking, and $57 million was designated for the trust fund. Interest from the fund is to be used for anti-smoking programs. Rowland has proposed taking another $41 million out of the tobacco settlement trust fund to offset a projected deficit of $200 million. [Hartford Courant, Jan. 15, 2002]

• 1/4: Anti-smoking groups are fuming over Gov. John G. Rowland's proposal to use more money from the settlement of lawsuits against the tobacco industry to help balance Connecticut's budget. With the state facing a projected deficit as high as $200 million, Rowland has proposed taking another $41 million out of the tobacco settlement trust fund to help balance the books. "Completely outrageous," said Ellen Dornelas, a psychologist who directs Hartford Hospital's smoking cessation program and co-chairs MATCH, or Mobilize Against Tobacco for Children's Health. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, whose lawsuit against five major tobacco companies four years ago led to the settlement, called the governor's proposal "disheartening and discouraging." According to the General Assembly's nonpartisan Office of Fiscal Analysis, the state will have received more than $397 million from the tobacco industry by the end of the fiscal year in June. Payments began in 1999. Of that money, $336 million has been pumped directly into the general fund to support the overall state budget. Just $5 million was directly allocated to fight smoking, with another $57 million designated for a Tobacco and Health Trust Fund. Interest from the fund is to be used for anti-smoking programs. [The Associated Press, Jan. 3, 2002]

• On March 29th, in a battle of politics as much as of substance, Republicans in the House, who have just 51 members versus 100 Democrats, offered an amendment to a tobacco settlement bill which would have moved $32 million of settlement funds to the state PRESCRIPTION DRUG PROGRAM FOR ELDERS. The amendment failed on a vote of 96 to 47. However, analysts said this was a strong indication that the legislature is very likely to find money somewhere, whether from settlement funds or elsewhere, to increase both funding for and eligibility levels for the SENIOR PRESCRIPTION DRUG PROGRAM. The Republican amendment went far beyond the expansion in the drug plan that Governor Rowland (R) offered in his budget by raising income eligibility levels for the plan. Democrats indicated their opposition was not so much to the substance of the amendment as to do it outside the regular budget process, and also to using settlement funds for this purpose. [Hartford Courant, March 30, 2001]

• The debate over how to spend the tobacco settlement funds continues as anti-tobacco advocates, including the state Attorney General and the Senate Majority Leader, claimed on March 15th that the state is only spending a fraction of what it should on ANTI-SMOKING programs. Dozens of activists wearing yellow ribbons in honor of dead loved ones descended on the Legislative Office Building on March 15th, spoke at a public hearing, lobbied lawmakers and staged a news conference to underscore the need for a bigger commitment to anti-smoking programs. A spokesman for Governor John G. Rowland said the General Assembly has been a full partner in spending tobacco settlement money, including a state fund set up to address the medical costs of smoking. [Connecticut Post, March 16, 2001]

• On August 9th, TOBACCO CONTROL ADVOCATES reacted to the release of a report on tobacco by Surgeon General David Satcher by pointing out that Satcher had said that states should be spending 20 to 25% of their settlement dollars on TOBACCO PREVENTION AND CESSATION PROGRAMS, whereas Connecticut had, thus far, allocated just $5 million out of the $150 million it received in the 1999-2000 fiscal year. Ellen Dornelas, of the Mobilize Against Tobacco for Children's Health group, said that the state has virtually no funding for any element of a comprehensive tobacco control plan. Ann Moore, a state Office of Policy and Management spokesperson, said the state had set aside $20 million of settlement money in both the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 fiscal years for tobacco control programs, and that a board of trustees was now in the process of being appointed to oversee how the money is to be spent. She said the board is to issue a report in February to the legislature on how to spend the funds. Dornelas stood by her statements and said the recent $1 million state education department program called Science, Tobacco & You for fourth and fifth graders was a one-shot deal and was intended to be a part of a comprehensive statewide program, which she said the state does not have. [AP in Boston Globe, August 9, 2000]

• On Feb. 9th, Governor Rowland (R) submitted his budget message to the legislature. Since Connecticut's legislature passed a biennial budget last year, this budget submission makes recommended adjustments in actions taken last year, which includes new allocations for the coming fiscal year. From the budget documents, it is not easy to discern everything that is being proposed with the settlement funds, but the following is our current understanding, which is subject to revision later. The governor's budget document says the following: "At the time of passage of the biennial budget last session, Connecticut was anticipated to receive $300 million over the biennium. Approximately $166 million was to be received in FY'1999-00, with $78 million being transferred into the General Fund for on-going programs, $20 million into the Tobacco & Health Trust Fund, $5 million to the OPM Tobacco Account for one-time TOBACCO CESSATION & EDUCATION PROJECTS [our emphasis], and $63 million to be carried forward. In FY'2000-01, another $134 million was to be received, bringing the balance to $196 million. About $150.3 million was scheduled to go to the General Fund a