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Old Money, New Decisions in Oregon

Almost a decade after balancing its budget with millions of dollars earned off the massive nationwide tobacco settlement reached in 1998, Oregon lawmakers have a second chance this year to put the settlement money to different use.

And as the legislature began its 2013 session this week, policy makers and advocates around the country were already mobilizing to help lawmakers decide how to spend the nearly $140 million in newly available funds.

Oregon is believed to be the first state to emerge from the controversial tobacco settlement bond arrangement many others entered in recent years. Advocates see it as a critical test case and a second chance to ensure scarce funds go to programs they say they were intended to support in the first place.

The $140 million in question in Oregon is the bulk of what the state receives from the tobacco lawsuit settlement, which nearly every state and federal officials reached with cigarette manufacturers in 1998. That settlement directed nearly $250 billion to states over the coming decades, money that was intended – although not required – to be used to curb tobacco use and other health initiatives around the country.

By Jake Grovum, Staff Writer

Full Story: http://www.pewstates.org/projects/stateline/headlines/old-money-new-decisions-in-oregon-85899443814

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