Cigarette Fee Violates State Constitution

Just two days after hearing arguments in a lawsuit challenging the $1.50 per pack fee on cigarettes that was adopted by the Oklahoma Legislature on the final day of the last session, the Oklahoma Supreme Court has ruled the fee is unconstitutional. The court sided with tobacco companies and wholesalers and others, and agreed the fee violates a state constitutional ban on passing revenue-raising measures in the last five days of a legislative session and without a 75 percent majority vote. The fee was expected to generate about $258 million.


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