Cigarette tax legislation is dead

An effort by Mississippi lawmakers to raise tobacco taxes is on its deathbed.
Senate Bill 3048, which could have been used to raise taxes, is dead after the House Ways and Means Committee didn’t take it up before Tuesday’s deadline. It’s still possible that lawmakers could rewrite any of four bills to increase taxes.
As written, the bill didn’t increase tobacco taxes, but it included parts of state law that could have been amended to raise them. Health advocates are seeking a big jump in Mississippi’s taxes, aiming to curb smoking.
The legislature has until March 24th to act.