House passes 93- 0 tobacco- funds bill

The House of Representatives handily passed a bill Thursday that would direct tobacco- settlement funds toward reducing the waiting list of services for the developmentally disabled.

House Bill 1033 by Rep. Andy Mayberry, R- Hensley, would allocate about $ 8.5 million annually to reducing the waiting list. The money would come from the state’s portion of a national settlement with tobacco companies that had been directed to a now- defunct program.

The money could be used to offer services to both adults and children with developmental or intellectual disabilities who qualify for services.

Mayberry said the money could help about 500 people on the 3,000- person waiting list, some of whom have been waiting as long as 10 years. Mayberry has a daughter with developmental disabilities; he said she was not on the state’s waiting list.

The legislation, approved by the House in a 93- 0 vote, is headed to the Senate.