Judge Orders Tobacco Tax Initiative Placed on November Ballot

A judge in Jefferson City has ordered the tobacco tax initiative to be put on November’s ballot. Cole County Circuit Judge Tom Brown agrees more than enough valid signatures have been found to compensate for the 274 the Secretary of State’s office had said the plaintiffs were short in the 5th Congressional District in Kansas City. Attorney Chuck Hatfield, representing the plaintiffs – Missourians for a Healthy Future – says more than a thousand additional valid signatures that were initially tossed out have been presented and the judge says they should have been counted. The decision issued by Judge Brown will be appealed. Attorney Marc Ellinger, representing the group Missourians Against Tax Abuse, believes there is enough to warrant an appeal. He says an appeal will be filed in Kansas City in the Western District Court of Appeals for Missouri. The appeal will be filed Tuesday, with Ellinger expecting it to be heard in the next couple of weeks.