Legislators have requested an audit of the Arkansas Tobacco Settlement Commission to determine if the state’s share of the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement is being used effectively.
Arkansas receives 0.8% share of the total settlement payments over the 25 years of the program.
Current law requires that Arkansas’ share of the settlement between 46 state attorneys general and tobacco companies be used on health-related programs. Because voters approved the requirement, proposed allocations to drug-treatment efforts would require two-thirds approval in the General Assembly.
Seven programs are funded by the $446 million in tobacco payments that Arkansas has received since 2000.
The money has been diverted from the seven programs, but all were for health-related efforts. The 2002 legislature appropriated $17 million of the tobacco money in 2002 to the Medicaid budget. Lawmakers approved a request from Gov. Mike Beebe for $58 million for Medicaid at this year’s session, but federal stimulus money was used instead.
