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Senate fiscal staff outline tobacco settlement fund: one‑time cushion shrinking, ongoing appropriations at risk
Summary
Fiscal staff reviewed history and projections for the state's tobacco settlement fund, showing a projected drop in available balance across FY26–FY27 and noting that most of the fund currently supports Medicaid match; senators queried program priorities such as school cessation, parent‑child centers and Medicaid matching.
Senate Appropriations members received a briefing on the state's tobacco settlement fund and the “master settlement” payments that feed it, with fiscal office analyst Emily Burns explaining recent payments, historical uses and projected balances through FY27.
“The tobacco fund itself is funded through the the master settlement agreement,” Burns said, summarizing the fund’s origin and purpose. She told the committee that the receipts are made annually and that recent atypical increases reflect adjustments from prior years.
Current uses and projections: the fiscal presentation showed that a large share of tobacco settlement receipts are used as a Medicaid match (the Global Commitment fund) and to support public health programs, education…
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