Committee briefed on bill lowering cigarette tax rate and directing OTP revenues to public‑health accounts
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Summary
Staff briefed engrossed substitute Senate Bill 6129, which would lower the new per‑cigarette tax to 1.25¢ (effective Jan. 1, 2027), preserve other tobacco product tax structures, direct $10 million to the Andy Hill account and $12 million to foundational public health services annually, and waive penalties for certain retailers for 2026.
Committee staff briefed engrossed substitute Senate Bill 6129 on Saturday, outlining changes to cigarette and nicotine product taxation and targeted revenue allocations.
Rochelle Harris summarized the bill’s main components: it reduces the new cigarette tax rate to 1.25¢ per cigarette effective Jan. 1, 2027 (instead of a 9.875¢ rate effective Jan. 1, 2028); it maintains existing differing rates for other tobacco products and retains a milliliter tax on vapor products rather than restructuring those taxes into a nicotine product tax; and it directs $10 million per fiscal year from OTP taxes to the Andy Hill account and $12 million per fiscal year to the foundational public health services account, with the remainder to the general fund. Staff also said the bill waives penalties and interest and allows a stay of collections for retailers that previously paid the vapor products tax but have not paid the OTP tax on those inventories in 2026 for up to 12 months.
No committee vote on SB 6129 was recorded in the transcript; the item was briefed and later removed from executive session. The briefing supplied policy detail but did not include a fiscal table or a sponsor floor motion in the recorded proceedings.
Sources: Briefing by Rochelle Harris; committee procedural remarks.