House Passes Cigarette Tax

What will the Pa. Senate do?

The Pennsylvania House has passed a bill authorizing Philadelphia to levy a cigarette tax for schools. The bill now moves back to the Senate.

The Patriot-News reports:

The tax bill now moves to the state Senate, which could vote the measure later this week. If it passes there, Gov. Tom Corbett is expected to sign it.

The bipartisan vote, following months of on-again, off-again negotiations and legislative maneuvering, was carried to passage by 74 Democrats and 40 Republicans – including most of those from the Philadelphia suburbs.

Seventy Republicans and 14 Democrats were opposed.

Taxing authority could generate up to $49 million this year, officials have said, and upward of $70 million annually in future years.