Dr. Richard Feldman: Increasing cigarette tax would support public health
The political influence of the tobacco industry runs dark and deep, and legislators need to push big tobacco aside.
The political influence of the tobacco industry runs dark and deep, and legislators need to push big tobacco aside.
Gov. Mike Braun’s new initiative borrows from Kennedy’s “Make America Healthy Again” slogan, which Kennedy, the U.S. health secretary, borrowed from President Donald Trump’s campaign.
The body opted to accept just three changes to House Bill 1001. Another 60-plus amendments, mostly from the chamber’s 10-member Democratic caucus, were rejected.
Gov. Mike Braun was joined by top Trump health officials Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Dr. Mehmet Oz as he introduced nine executive orders signed under his “Make Indiana Healthy Again” initiative Tuesday.
An updated revenue forecast presented to the Budget Committee projected the state’s revenue will flatline from 2025 to 2027.
Hoosiers getting insurance under the Healthy Indiana Plan would need to log at least 20 work or volunteer hours a week with the state, a move that supporters hope will curb the program’s enrollment numbers.
To further close the gap, leaders also said they would reduce planned spending for public health, higher education and government agencies.
The new budget proposal provides more funding for operations and business-promotion support for the Indiana Economic Development Corp., but cuts five funds and programs totaling $35 million.
The Indiana Legislature approved a pared-down $46.2 billion state budget bill early Friday morning that will triple the state’s cigarette tax and cut funding for a wide swath of entities and programs.
More than $7 million earmarked to support PBS and NPR affiliates across Indiana, including WFYI in Indianapolis, did not survive late changes to the state budget.
Around 1:20 a.m. Friday, Indiana lawmakers approved the last bill of the session: the 2026-27 state budget. Here’s what happened with some of the bills we’ve watched this session.
The budget approved last week increases the tax by $2 per pack and imposes similar increases on other tobacco products, including vaping products.
Gov. Mike Braun signed 243 bills into law during this year, including more than 60 on Tuesday. Here’s a rundown of some of the most significant pieces of legislation that made it through this year’s General Assembly.
Business leaders are encouraging state commerce officials to retain the programs that have led to what they say has been a “strong ROI” in the past.
The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration, which manages the program, said cuts were necessary because former Gov. Eric Holcomb’s administration had grown the program without a sustainable funding source.
Gov. Mike Braun and Lt. Gov. Micah Beckwith are fans of the new exclusions—and so is U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
A year of wins and losses amid extreme budgetary pressures.
Ongoing negotiations in Washington, D.C., could undermine or fundamentally alter the third iteration of the Healthy Indiana Plan, otherwise known as HIP.
Since 2000, the Indiana Department of Health has surveyed more than 4,800 public middle and high school students every two years to monitor tobacco trends.
The cigarette tax hike is the result of a last-minute compromise by Indiana legislators to address a projected revenue shortfall of $2 billion over the biennium.