(Statehouse) – You will be paying more for cigarettes or other tobacco products, if you smoke, chew or dip, with decisions that have been made about the state budget for the next two years.
The budget, as announced Wednesday afternoon at the Statehouse, also protects school vouchers and the promised income tax cuts.
But, some state commissions have been cut, particularly ones that haven’t met for a while and cost taxpayers money.
The press conference, attended by top Republican lawmakers, including House Speaker Todd Huston, Senate Pres. Pro Tempre Rod Bray, Sen. Ryan Mishler and Gov. Mike Braun, was held after several days of negotiations on the budget to get it done in the final hours of the legislative session.
The latest state budget forecast projected a $2.4 billion budget shortfall for the next two years.
The $2 per pack cigarette tax increase is expected to provide about $800 million over the next two years. It also includes extra taxes on all other tobacco products.
“Along with the revenue comes a pretty good public policy that it was gonna help persuade people to either not start smoking or stop smoking at the same time,” said Bray.
While the goal exists to curb smoking as a side benefit, that could also put a dent in the projected revenue the new taxes are expected to generate. Bray said those results would be good, but might take a while. The new tax had been requested repeatedly by Democrats in both the House and Senate.
“It’s gonna have a huge benefit for Medicaid costs going forward,” said Bray, pointing out that the state Medicaid budget has grown steadily since 2023.
Public K-12 education, which makes up 47 percent of the state budget, would get slight increases. Medicaid is still expected to be funded at current levels, with it making up 22 percent of the state budget.
Public Health took a cut from $100 million to $40 million per year. Most state agencies are taking at least a five percent cut.
(Story by Network Indiana)
