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Cigarette Tax Increase Blocked
The Senate Finance Committee has blocked a bill that would increase state cigarette taxes by 10 cents a pack during the next four years.
Sen. Madison E. Mayre, D-Montgomery, said he offered this bill to raise needed revenue for Virginia instead of trying to cause more problems for soaring tobacco industries in Virginia.
At 2.5 cents a pack, Virginia has the lowest state tax on cigarettes in the nation, and the sehator said the equivalent increase each year for the next four years "wouldn’t zap anybody all at once.”
Bingo Regulation Generates Proposal
The Charitable Gaming Commission has stirred up so much hostility among the state's volunteer bingo organizations that some legislators want to abolish it — especially Sen. H, Russell Potts Jr., R-Winchester.
The Senate General Laws Committee passed Potts' bill 9-6, which would give the commission its final breath on June 30, 1999. Bingo game operators from Winchester stood in unison and applauded Potts fiery speech. They say the commission’s extensive paperwork and fee cuts into their fund-raising efforts.
Immediately following the committee's approval of Pott^bil.l, Charles J. Colgan, D-Prince William, sponsored a bill giving the commission the same 1999 ending date but providing for a renewal of the commission pending a favorable review until the 1999 General Assembly. Colgan's bill passed 13-2.
Michael E. Thomas, the state secretary of administration, said he thinks many of the concerns are unrelated to the commission, suggesting that the General Assembly could address many complaints about the commission's work.
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