By Sarah Green
KHI News Service
TOPEKA, April 19
Attorney General Paul Morrison announced Thursday that the annual payment from the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement with tobacco companies is in the bank.
The state received $50,210,767.89, according to the attorney general”s office. That”s more than last year”s payment, but still not what the state was scheduled to receive. In 2006 and 2007, Kansas should have been paid about $55 million each year under the terms of the settlement struck after states sued major tobacco companies seeking to recover the costs of treating sick smokers. In 2006, the state also received less than expected, about $49.4 million.
“We”re happy to announce that Kansas received a slightly larger payment this year than last, but we do recognize that two out of three major tobacco manufacturers have withheld a portion of their payment to the MSA states,” Morrison said in a prepared statement. “My office will continue to fight to maintain the annual payments to our state.”
Reynolds American and Lorillard tobacco companies each withheld about 25 percent of their scheduled payments, instead placing the money into a disputed payment account, Morrison said.
The tobacco companies have argued that states have not protected the companies” market share, which was a condition of the agreement.
In Kansas, all funds from the Master Settlement Agreement are allocated through the Children”s Initiatives Fund, which supports social and health programs for Kansas children.
The MSA money has been a topic of interest this legislative session because of a projected increase in April 2008, when the state was scheduled to see its annual payment bumped to $75 million. Bills were introduced to capture that anticipated additional money, including House Bill 2395, which would have directed the money to the Department on Aging”s Health Care For Seniors Fund and Senior Services Fund; and Senate Bill 318, introduced by Sen. Jim Barnett, R-Emporia, that would have directed any additional funds to comprehensive tobacco control and cessation programs.
Neither bill got out of committee. Barnett also attemped to amend the Senate’s major budget bill to include SB 318, but the amendment failed.
About $1 million is now allocated through the Children”s Initiatives Fund for
comprehensive tobacco control
programs, though
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that
the state spend a minimum of $18.1
million yearly on tobacco cessation and control.
In 2006, the state transferred $4 million from the state general fund to the Children”s Initiatives Fund to make up for the money withheld by the tobacco companies.
-Sarah Green is a staff writer for KHI News Service, which specializes in coverage of health issues facing Kansans. She can be reached at
sgreen@khi.org
or at 785-233-5443, ext. 118.