DENVER - On November 2,
voters in Colorado approved the first tax increase in over 10 years by passing
Amendment 35 with over 60 percent support. This tax increase will raise the
cost of cigarettes by 64 cents, and help to close the widening health care gap
that left 700,000 residents without health insurance in 2003.
"After two years of planning,
eight months of campaigning, and an enormous amount of effort and discipline,
we are proud to have effected such a huge amount of positive change for Coloradans,"
said Ben Davis, Municipal Advocate with the Colorado Public Interest Research
Group. "This vote proves that Colorado supports increasing health care access
for all consumers."
Amendment 35 will go to
pay for an expansion of both Medicaid and the Child Health Plan, both of which
serve low-income consumers who are unable to pay for full health coverage. The
increased revenue will also be devoted to cancer research, smoking cessation
programs, and community health clinics throughout Colorado. Colorado joins Montana
and Oklahoma as one of the three states that passed a tobacco tax increase on
November 2nd.
