Oklahoma legislators will ask voters’ permission to dip into the state’s Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust.
The Oklahoma Senate gave final approval to send to the ballot a measure that seeks to reduce the amount of settlement funds going to TSET from 75% to 25%.
Currently, the trust receives 75% of the state’s annual payment from the 1998 master settlement agreement with tobacco companies. The remaining 25% goes to the Legislature and the attorney general’s office.
Senate Joint Resolution 27, which will appear on the ballot as State Question 814, will ask voters to approve flipping those percentages so the Legislature controls the bulk of 75% of the settlement payments.
Two decades ago, Oklahoma voters had the foresight to constitutionally protect the state’s share of the agreement with Big Tobacco, said TSET Executive Director Julie Bisbee.
“The constitutionally protected endowment enables the agency to develop long term plans that consider the needs of Oklahomans today and for future generations,” she said. “The Legislature’s passage of SJR27, gives Oklahoma voters to consider reducing the annual amount deposited into the state’s endowment.
“Now more than ever, as Oklahoma and the world grapple with the coronavirus pandemic, it is vital to address chronic underlying conditions that put people most as risk such as diabetes, heart disease and lung disease. TSET will continue to work to address the leading causes of preventable death.”
The TSET trust currently holds about $1.3 billion, and the ballot measure will not touch those funds, said author Sen. Kim David, R-Porter. TSET can only spend the interest earnings off the trust.
