TRIBUNE-REVIEW: Gov. Tom Corbett proposes using $220 million from the state’s tobacco fund — money that was dedicated to health care — to help leverage money for economic development…
Pennsylvania created its tobacco fund as a result of a 1998 court settlement of a lawsuit by state attorneys general against the five major tobacco companies. The states alleged the companies owed them for future medical expenses of Medicaid patients with tobacco-related illnesses. The companies agreed to pay into a settlement fund, which sends annual payments to the states….
Rep. Joe Markosek of Monroeville, ranking Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, objects to using the tobacco money for purposes other than health care. He’s concerned that Corbett’s proposal would become a discretionary loan fund under the governor’s control… (more)
