Cigarette tax gets strong Senate vote, but faces hurdles

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Backers of a 53-cent per pack increase in cigarette taxes won a strong 32-13 vote. But with just five legislative days left in the session and House leaders strongly opposed to any tax increase, the new tax faces an uphill battle for passage.

The Senate refused 32-13 Tuesday to table, or kill, an amendment to impose the much-discussed 53-cent per pack cigarette tax increase. It was the first vote the Senate had taken on the cigarette tax alone, and probably represented the purest indicator of the senators' individual positions on the issue since it was not tied to any other tax initiative.

But Gov. Mark Sanford repeated his vow to veto any tax measure that does not include his income-tax reduction plan. And House leaders promoted a federal grant of $140 million as a one-year fix for Medicaid spending, making the cigarette tax unnecessary this year, they said.

Despite the favorable vote in the Senate for the cigarette tax, such a bill would face very high parliamentary hurdles to become law this year, Senate President pro tem Glenn McConnell said.

The federal grant contained in President Bush's tax-cut legislation "pulled the rug out from under" any new state tax proposals this year, said McConnell, who opposes the cigarette tax increase.

Democrats, who are a minority of 21 members in the 46-seat Senate are holding out for the cigarette tax without the Republican governor's income-tax cut. And some Republicans, including Lexington Sen. Jake Knotts, oppose any tax increase. Knotts held the floor Tuesday when the Senate adjourned, vowing to talk the measure to death.

It takes 28 votes in the Senate to cut off a filibuster, and Senate Democratic Leader John Land of Manning said he told the governor Tuesday if Republicans could get 24 votes to sit Knotts down, he believed he could line up the remaining four.

Land said Tuesday afternoon after meeting with Sanford that "no door is closed" in negotiating with the governor and the Senate Republican Leadership about the governor's income-tax reduction plan.

"I will do whatever is reasonable and responsible to bring about a fully funded Medicaid program," Land said.

The General Assembly is famous for its 11th-hour deals, and even with just five work days left, Land would not rule out agreement between the Senate and the governor.

But the House of Representatives is another hurdle. House Speaker David Wilkins, R-Greenville, has vowed to oppose any tax increase this year.

"Back in March, the House took a firm position against raising the cigarette tax without first reforming the Medicaid program. Our position has been validated and we now must use this time wisely to implement our reform package and continue to study our tax structure before debating tax increases," Wilkins said at a press conference Tuesday.

Immediately after the House leaders addressed the press, Gov. Sanford and Senate Republican leaders took to the podium in the first floor gallery of the Statehouse.

Several hundred health care workers packed the lower lobby in support of the cigarette tax coalition's campaign to urge the governor, House and Senate to support the 53-cents-per-pack increase to provide a recurring source of funds for Medicaid.

"Medicaid provides funding for children, elderly people in nursing homes, money for people's prescriptions, and cuts would really impact the state of South Carolina's budget," said Clylinda Nixon, a social worker at Palmetto Baptist Hospital in Columbia.

Sanford met with Republican and Democratic senators throughout the afternoon, a spokesman said, and remained optimistic despite Tuesday's vote.

"We've said all along, this is one in a series of votes you're going to see on different components of the governor's plan," spokesman Will Folks said. "In as much as he can continue to engage the process, rest assured the governor is going to do that."

Hours before the vote, Sanford urged senators to pass his plan and to stop political posturing.

"This is the day when political games need to stop," he said to the applause of cigarette tax supporters who gathered at the Statehouse to lobby their cause. "We have to push this thing over the top today because it's critical for all of South Carolina."

Sanford said the promised one-time federal funds won't solve the Medicaid problem because the money is only available for two years and can't be used to match federal funds.

He said he had already compromised on his plan by offering not to start the tax credits until 2006.

"We have continually looked for middle ground in this issue," he said.

Senators last Thursday rejected Sanford's plan 28-18 while the governor was en route to Bermuda to endorse a yacht race from South Carolina.

Sanford said Tuesday he and other supporters of the plan spent the weekend lobbying senators to turn votes around.

"I think we have a better shot than we had last week," he said.

Sanford warned he would veto any stand-alone bill to raise cigarette taxes or any "job-killing sales tax increase."

His plan, he said, would help turnaround a "jobs and economic crisis" which now plagues the state and nation.

"The people of South Carolina voted for change - and a central part of that change was long-term income tax relief," he said. "Right now they're not getting that change from a lot of lawmakers. It's time we moved our state forward with a renewed investment in our economy - not backward with more political grandstanding."