Ritchie's 4-cent tax on cigs tacked on to constitutional amendment to fund TOPS

Rep. Harold Ritchie
(D, Franklinton)

Remember that four-cent tax on cigarettes that Rep. Harold Ritchie (D, Franklinton) introduced as HB 591 that was vetoed by Gov. Bobby Jindal? Well, it lives on as part of a ballot initiative voters will see this fall.

Ritchie’s bill would have re-created a four-cent tax, which was set to expire in 2012, but Jindal, who had said he would not sign any new taxes, made good on that promise when he vetoed the bill. Jindal said it was a new tax because it was set to expire. 

Additionally, the Louisiana Constitution does not allow for the extension or continuation of taxes, which was the reason Ritchie’s bill was needed.

The House, which initially passed the bill with 70 votes, could only muster 58 “ayes” in the override vote. It would have been the first veto override in the state in 18 years.

Now, the four-cent tax is tacked on as part of a constitutional amendment that provides funding for the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS).

In a last-minute compromise, Jindal and lawmakers agreed to allow the tax extension to go forward via a constitutional amendment to fund college scholarships.

The debate was revived when Ritchie succeeded in attaching the tax to an administration bill to fund the state's free college tuition program with tobacco settlement money. Jindal risked losing the bill if he didn't agree to the tax add-on.