Tobacco tax, growth changes await Crist's okay

MAY 19, 2009

The governor said Tuesday he has decided to let the new $1-a-pack cigarette tax increase become law, and he does not oppose the Legislature's changes to growth management laws.

On the tobacco tax, Gov. Crist said: "I think the cigarette tax is appropriate, and I really view it as a health issue more than I do a tax issue." Paraphrasing Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who was quoting former President Ronald Reagan, Crist said: "If you want to kill something, you ought to tax it. It wouldn't be bad to kill smoking."

On the growth management bill (SB 360), he said: "I think it's going to be okay" after "some bad things came out of it toward the end of the session." Crist's office is being inundated with letters from his constituents who are urging him to veto the bill, calling it overly developer-friendly and weakening the role of the Department of Community Affairs in reviewing large-scale developments.

Posted by Steve Bousquet at 4:10:00 pm on May 19, 2009 | Permalink | Comments |

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