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Minutes for HB2231 - Committee on Taxation
Short Title
Increasing rates of tax of cigarettes and tobacco products; establishing the cigarette and tobacco products cessation fund.
Minutes Content for Thu, Mar 15, 2018
Mr. Wells provided an overview on HB2231 stating the bill is a carry-over bill from last year and will require technical amendments to update the bill. HB2231 increases the tax on cigarettes by $1.50 to $2.79 a pack and also raises the tobacco products tax to 65 percent of their wholesale sales price. Mr. Wells stood for questions from the Committee.
Proponents: HB2231
Hilary Gee, Cancer Action Network testified as a proponent for HB2231 (Attachment 7).
Dr. Roy Jensen, University of Kansas Cancer Center testified as a proponent for HB2231 (Attachment 8).
Carolyn Whatley testified as a proponent for HB2231 on behalf o Cathy Bennett and Scott Hall, Kansas City Chamber of Commerce (Attachment 9).
Rebecca Garza, Volunteer with American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network testified as a proponent for HB2231 (Attachment 10).
Ruth Gathunguri, Junior at Free State High School, testified as a proponent for HB2231 (Attachment 11).
Rick Cagan, National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), testified as a proponent for HB2231 (Attachment 12).
Mark Desetti, Kansas National Education Association, testified as a proponent for HB2231 (Attachment 13).
Rob Gilligan, Kansas Association of School Boards, testified as a proponent for HB2231 (Attachment 14).
Tracy Russell, American Heart Association, testified as a proponent for HB2231 (Attachment 15).
Written testimony as a proponent for HB2231 was submitted by the following:
Sheldon Weisgrau, Alliance for a Healthy Kansas (Attachment 16)
Leah Martin, American Lung Association (Attachment 17)
Jodi L. Radke, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (Attachment 18)
Edward Ellerbeck, MD, Kansas University Cancer Center (Attachment 19)
Bridget McCandless, MD, Health Care Foundation (Attachment 20)
Irene Caudillo, Healthy Communities Wyandotte (Attachment 21)
Carolyn Gaughan, Kansas Academy of Family Physicians (Attachment 22)
Amanda Gress, Kansas Action for Children (Attachment 23)
Heidi Holliday, Kansas Center for Economic Growth (Attachment 24)
Dennis Cooley, MD, Kansas Chapter American Academy of Pediatrics (Attachment 25)
Denise Cyzman, Kansas Association for the Medically Underserved (KAMU) (Attachment 26)
Gary Doolittle, MD and Peggy Johnson, Kansas Partnership (Attachment 27)
Linda Warner, LCPC, Kansas City Kansas Community College (Attachment 28)
Shannon Lucas, March of Dimes (Attachment 29)
Mariana Ramirez, Public Health Professional (Attachment 30)
Susan McLoughlin, Mother & Child Health Coalition (Attachment 31)
Mary Reed Spencer, National Multiple Sclerosis Society (Attachment 32)
Christi Nance, Oral Health Kansas (Attachment 33)
Dr. James Gardner, Tobacco Free Kansas Coalition (Attachment 34)
David C. Toland, Thrive Allen County (Attachment 35)
Mary Beth Gentry, Young Women on the Move (Attachment 36)
Shannon Williams, Overland Park, Kansas (Attachment 37)
Steve Coen, Kansas Health Foundation (Attachment 38)
Chad Austin, Kansas Hospital Association (Attachment 39)
Opponents:
Doug May, Kansas Governmental Solutions, testified as an opponent for HB2231 (Attachment 40).
Tom Palace, Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association of Kansas, testified as an opponent for HB2231 (Attachment 41).
Curt Diebel, Diebel's Sportsmens Gallery testified as an opponent for HB2231 (Attachment 42).
Tom Jacob, Cigar Chateau testified as an opponent for HB2231 (Attachment 43).
Whitney Damron on behalf of Swisher International testified as an opponent for HB2231 (Attachment 44).
Ron Hein on behalf of Reynolds American, Inc., testified as an opponent for HB2231 (Attachment 45)
Written testimony was submitted by the following as an opponent for HB2231.
Eric Stafford, Kansas Chamber (Attachment 46)
Jeff Glendening, Americans for Prosperity (Attachment 47)
James Franko, Kansas Policy Institute (Attachment 48)
Hearing closed on HB2231.
