$2-per-pack tobacco tax could land on California ballot

A coalition of health and labor groups on Monday submitted a pair of initiatives for the 2016 ballot to raise the state’s tobacco tax by $2 a pack, perhaps an acknowledgment that a similar effort moving through the Legislature will ultimately be scuttled. Save Lives California, including the American Heart Association, American Lung Association, American Cancer Society, California Medical Association and SEIU California, filed two measures with the Attorney General’s Office for titles and summaries. Backers will likely decide later which one to take to the streets for signatures and a place on the ballot. One measure allows state tax officials to impose an equivalent tax on electronic cigarettes.

http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article20223633.html