Tobacco Amendment Passes in Approprations Committee (audio)

Air Date:03/31/2010

By Eryn Clement

The Appropriations Committee spent several hours going through the general bill amendments on Tuesday with the goal of finalizing the state budget. Lawmakers passed one amendment regarding tobacco prevention.

Among the many amendments made to the general bill were suggestions to cut or reduce funding for programs in the state. An amendment to reduce one and a half million dollars from the tobacco prevention trust fund passed in the Appropriations Committee. Opponents of the motion say promoting tobacco prevention is vital in ensuring that there are less tobacco users in the state. South Dakota Secretary of Heath Doneen Hollingsworth says there is only so much the Department of Health can do with the amount of resources it is given.

“The Department of Health is committed to maintain a quality comprehensive tobacco program if we have fewer resources but we can’t do it with significantly fewer resources,” says Hollingsworth.

Proponents of the amendment say there are a lot of things they don’t want to cut but cuts must be made to balance the budget.

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