Kander will OK tobacco tax for vote if signatures verified

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander said Monday a court-ordered change to the ballot summary of a proposed cigarette-tax increase is not enough to disqualify it from going before voters if it has sufficient petition signatures.

The announcement marked at least a temporary victory for supporters of the proposal, though opponents quickly indicated they likely will raise a new court challenge if Kander officially certifies the measure for the November ballot.

The initiative proposes a gradual 60-cent increase to the state's 17-cent-a-pack cigarette tax -- the lowest in the nation -- largely to benefit early-childhood programs. It also proposes a 67-cent-a-pack fee on smaller companies that weren't part of a 1998 settlement between states and big tobacco companies.

Earlier this month, an appeals court panel ruled the ballot summary prepared by Kander's office should be changed to say the fee will rise annually.

That created uncertainty for the measure, because a Missouri law says petitions must bear the official ballot wording. The petitions submitted in May by the sponsoring group, Raise Your Hand for Kids, all contained the original ballot summary.

Attorney Chuck Hatfield, who challenged the summary on behalf of a tobacco retailer, said the wording change means all of the petitions should be invalidated.

But Kander told local election officials they should continue verifying those petition signatures. He said the ballot summary was official at the time the signatures were gathered and submitted.

"In the Secretary of State's office's view, the intent of the law was not to disenfranchise Missourians after they have legally signed a petition," Kander's office said in a written statement.

Kander's statement said he would approve the measure for the ballot if it's determined to have enough valid signatures. The deadline to certify ballot measures is Aug. 9.

If the measure is certified for the ballot, "I suspect that we'll have to go to court on that," Hatfield said.

Jane Dueker, an attorney for Raise Your Hand for Kids, said she expects another court battle, "but we believe that the secretary of state's decision is absolutely, legally correct."

The measure is one of two tobacco taxes proposed for the November ballot. An initiative sponsored by tobacco retailers would phase in a 23-cent-a-pack increase. Its petition signatures also are still being verified, but it faces no court challenge.