Senate OKs Philadelphia Schools Cigarette Tax Measure
By Tony Romeo
HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) — After hanging in limbo all summer long, the state Senate – on the first day of fall – has finally sent a bill to Governor Tom Corbett that will authorize a $2 per pack tax on cigarettes to raise desperately need cash for Philadelphia schools.
The cigarette tax languished all summer in a standoff between the House and Senate over provisions unrelated to Philadelphia schools. But on Tuesday, the state Senate finally sent the bill to Governor Corbett. Philadelphia's Vincent Hughes, the ranking Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, is pleased that the logjam has been broken, but says the delay was costly.
"No, it's not all the ends well. Every week that it takes to implement this is a lost week of one and a half million dollars. That's not acceptable. They kids are not getting an educational environment that they deserve to have. They're just as important as any other school child across the state of Pennsylvania," Hughes said.
Governor Corbett, meanwhile, said in a statement that he would sign the bill authorizing the cigarette tax for city schools as soon as it reached his desk.
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