Groups file briefs on tobacco fee lawsuit

Various groups are weighing in on a lawsuit that challenges a $1.50 “fee” on cigarettes passed last session.

Cigarette companies and others have filed a legal challenge to the measure, Senate Bill 845, in the Oklahoma Supreme Court. The court is expected to hear oral arguments on Aug. 8.

The suit alleges the measure, which is expected to raise $257 million, violates three key provisions of law.

Revenue-raising measures must originate in the House, receive a supermajority in both chambers and can’t be passed in the final days of the session.

The bill started in the Senate, didn’t receive a supermajority and secured approval from the House on the final day of the legislative session, May 26.

The measure was passed after failed attempts to impose a $1.50-per-pack tax increase on cigarettes in addition to the existing $1.03 tax.

The National Association of Manufacturers, the Texas-based McLane Company, the Oklahoma State Medical Association and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids earlier this month were granted permission to file briefs in the matter. The McLane Company is a distribution and logistics company that does business in the state.

The National Association of Manufacturers and the McLane Company allege lawmakers violated the law in enacting the fee, while the Oklahoma State Medical Association and the Tobacco-Free Kids Coalition support the fee.

“The tax itself is substantial: At $1.50 per pack, it will result in decreased cigarette sales, affecting numerous Oklahoma businesses — from tobacco farmers, to tobacco producers, to cigarette manufacturers, to wholesalers and retailers — not to mention Oklahoma citizens who purchase cigarettes,” the National Association of Manufacturers argues in its brief.