Sen. Bergstrom issues statement on ruling on smoking cessation fee

Senator Micheal Bergstrom, R- Adair, issued a statement Thursday regarding the Supreme Court’s ruling striking down the cigarette fee and declaring it an unconstitutional tax:

"As I sat in the courtroom and listened to the arguments in the Oklahoma Supreme Court on Tuesday, I came to the conclusion that the smoking cessation fee we passed last session was in serious trouble. This morning the court ruled that the fee was unconstitutional.

“The court made the right decision. That means, however, that $215 million must be cut from the budget, primarily from the Department of Human Services, the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and the Oklahoma Health Care Authority, or we have a special session to fix this.

"I expect we will go into a special session. This is too important. It must be addressed, and preferably sooner than later."