The proposal to raise taxes on cigarettes by 50 cents for the Pack ran into the familiar quicksand Tuesday, after the master plan of the Senate bogged down in disputes about how to spend money.
Subcommittee of the Senate approved a House-passed bill, but voted for the plan, Senate Finance Committee has been postponed at least until the morning after some senators announced that they will vote against the legislation in its current form.
"As I look around this committee, I think the vast majority supports doing something to improve," Sen. Nikki Setzler, Lexington County Democrat, told his colleagues.
"But this bill could either die within the next five minutes, with the right to vote, he could die from Minority Report, or get out of here with a tie vote or one vote margin in the Senate, where she will never see this year."
Proponents of an increase later said they hope a compromise can be developed overnight.
"Our problem is not the way they spend money," said Jim Bowie, executive director of the South Carolina Tobacco Cooperative Group, which insists on the increase. "Our question we need to begin preventive measures as soon as possible."
Current tax at 7 cents for the Pack is the lowest in the country. 50-percent increase will generate about $ 144 million, most of which will be used in accordance with the plan of the house at a premium credit for health insurance for low-income workers and small businesses. Individuals would get a maximum credit of $ 3000 towards the state mandated policies, and business and workers can receive credits for health insurance arranged by the employer.
Subcommittee of the Senate voted Tuesday to spend $ 5 million from the top of the income for the Hollings Cancer Center in Charleston and $ 750,000 for federal medical centers in the country.
But what attracts and critical questions Tuesday, particularly from Senate Democrats had a plan to spend most of the proceeds of credit insurance.
Senator John Land, a leader of Senate Democrats, predicted the plan would fail, that the federal government does not approve the funds, and that the program does not make sense from the point of view. He argued that spending money on medical insurance will mean that some of this amount will go to insurance premiums and insurance administrative overhead, as well as for millions of up to two government agencies to manage the program.
Land said many more people could be absorbed through the placement of all revenues in the main state agency Medicaid to pay for additional services to Medicaid.
"I think it's crazy that I've ever seen our business," Land said of the money to pay off loans, medical insurance. "This is not so. It will not work. This is a huge waste of public money."
Senator Ralph Anderson, Greenville and Sen. Phil Leventis of Sumter, both Democrats, agreed, arguing that the State does not need to create new programs when they could invest tax revenue to the agency, which already handles healthcare for the poor.
Sen. John Courson, Columbia Republican, said that he would only support income "neutral" plan, such as the use of money for tax breaks, he said, would prevent the Governor's veto, Mark Sanford.
The Committee will meet Thursday morning to work out a compromise.
