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A smoke and a view of L.A. | Photo by victoriabernal via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr
It's a long ways away, but a second ballot initiative qualified for the February 7th, 2012 Presidential Primary ballot. That's when California, after this November's election, will have another statewide election, unless a special one is called for like in 2009.
Today's new initiative asks voters to place an additional tax on cigarettes. It would impose a five-cent tax on each cigarette, or $1 per pack. An equivalent tax would be placed on other tobacco products. The money, to be administered by a nine-member committee, would go towards "research and research facilities focused on detecting, preventing, treating, and curing cancer, heart disease, emphysema, and other tobacco-related diseases, and to finance prevention programs," according to the Attorney General's official summary.
It would raise $855 million during the first fiscal year and then decline slightly annually thereafter, predicts the state's Legislative Analyst and Director of Finance.
The first initiative to quality for the 2012 ballot would reduce "the total amount of time a person may serve in the state legislature from 14 years to 12 years," according to its summary. "Allows a person to serve a total of 12 years either in the Assembly, the Senate, or a combination of both.
Initiatives must quality for a ballot 131 days before the next election. It's likely that this ballot is gonna get crowded!
