Democratic candidate for governor Tommy Moore pushed a cigarette tax increase Tuesday, and opponent Frank Willis touted Florence's selection for a juvenile crime initiative.

Moore is a veteran state senator from Aiken, and Willis has been Florence's mayor for a decade.

Under the bill introduced by Moore, a state senator of Clearwater in Aiken County, the per-pack tax on cigarettes would rise to 46 cents with the addition of a 39-cent "user fee."

It would be geared toward helping small businesses provide health insurance coverage to their employees, although it would impose financial obligations on participating employers.

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New revenue would be used by a Medicaid-funded Small Business Insurance Premium Assistance Program for employees and their spouses who are at or under 200 percent of the federal poverty level, Moore said.

The Mayor's Coalition to Prevent Juvenile Crime, created by Willis, has been selected as one of eight community organizations to participate in the privately funded second phase of a National League of Cities' initiative to expand learning opportunities for students after school.

As part of the City Leaders Engaged in After-school Reform, or CLEAR project, the coalition will receive aid, plus access to resources and expertise in the yearlong effort directed by NLC's Institute for Youth, Education, and Families.

Willis created the coalition in 2004 to combat rising juvenile crime. It pooled the resources of 30 different organizations and agencies to steer young people toward programs designed to redirect their lives.

According to program spokesman Jim Shaw, the coalition has expanded, and 50 percent-plus reductions have been recorded in student fighting, truancy and expulsions.

Moore's bill may face a tough road in an election-year Legislature rapidly nearing its early June adjournment. Members have shown little taste for a cigarette tax hike, and Gov. Mark Sanford has said he will veto any tax increase that doesn't have corresponding tax cuts.

Moore said his bill would make health insurance affordable to small businesses and their employees in South Carolina, where 800,000 people, half of them with jobs, are uninsured.

He estimated the tax would generate more than $150 million the first year, an amount that could be matched with federal dollars.