MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1999 Regular Session

To: Rules

By: Representative Flaggs

WHEREAS, on May 23, 1994, the Attorney General of the State of Mississippi filed a lawsuit against the major tobacco companies to recover the costs of past and future medical expenditures by the state for smoking-related illnesses, which was the first lawsuit of its kind in the nation; and

WHEREAS, few people in the business and legal communities gave Mississippi's lawsuit much of a chance, because it relied upon different and untested legal theories from those used in previous lawsuits against the tobacco companies, and because the tobacco industry had been very successful in defending against previous challenges; and

WHEREAS, within the next few years, a number of other states filed their own similar lawsuits against the tobacco industry, and Mississippi led the national effort in encouraging and actively participating in other states' negotiations with the tobacco companies; and

WHEREAS, with all these lawsuits pending, the momentum began to turn against the tobacco companies, so they decided to settle with the states, beginning with Mississippi in July 1997 for $3.36 Billion, then with Florida in August 1997 for $11.2 Billion, with Texas in January 1998 for $15.3 Billion, with Minnesota in May 1998 for $6.6 Billion, and finally with the remaining 46 states, the District of Columbia and four territories in November 1998 for $206 Billion; and

WHEREAS, now that the states have succeeded in recovering large sums of money from the tobacco industry, the federal government is trying to claim a large portion of the states' tobacco settlement funds for itself, asserting that current Medicaid law requires the federal government to recover its share of any funds collected by states on behalf of Medicaid clients because federal funds were used for Medicaid expenditures; and

WHEREAS, the states took all of the risk and had little outside support for their tobacco lawsuits, especially in the beginning, and the federal government did not join in the states' litigation or bring its own tobacco lawsuit on behalf of the federal government, despite an early request to the United States Department of Justice from the Mississippi Attorney General for the department to do so; and

WHEREAS, the State of Mississippi strongly opposes any attempts of the federal government to capture a portion of the states' tobacco settlement funds, since they were secured solely through the efforts of the states, which invested significant time, energy and financial resources in their fight against one of the nation's most powerful industries; and

WHEREAS, there is legislation now pending in Congress that would amend the federal Medicaid statutes to deny the federal government's claim to any share of the states' tobacco settlement funds and allow the states to keep the full amount of their settlement monies:

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE SENATE CONCURRING THEREIN, That we firmly oppose any efforts by the federal government to take any portion of the tobacco lawsuit settlement funds received and to be received by the State of Mississippi and other states, and we strongly support the enactment of legislation by Congress that would deny the federal government's claim to any of the states' tobacco settlement funds.

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be furnished to each member of the Mississippi congressional delegation, the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the President of the United States Senate, the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, and the Capitol Press Corps.