| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to cigarette surcharge revenue uses; |
| 3 | amending s. 210.011, F.S.; reducing the amount of |
| 4 | cigarette surcharge revenues deposited into the Health |
| 5 | Care Trust Fund; appropriating a portion of cigarette |
| 6 | surcharge revenues to the Department of Children and |
| 7 | Family Services for certain purposes; prohibiting the use |
| 8 | of such portion to supplant certain general revenue funds |
| 9 | allocated to the department; providing an effective date. |
| 10 |
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| 11 | WHEREAS, compared to the general population, individuals |
| 12 | with mental illness have higher rates of chronic health problems |
| 13 | and premature death due to long-term tobacco use, and |
| 14 | WHEREAS, the life span of an individual with mental illness |
| 15 | is, on average, 20 to 25 years shorter than that of the average |
| 16 | American, and most of these individuals die from smoking-related |
| 17 | diseases, and |
| 18 | WHEREAS, it is estimated that 200,000 of the 435,000 annual |
| 19 | deaths from smoking in the United States occur among individuals |
| 20 | with chronic mental illness and substance use disorders, and |
| 21 | WHEREAS, compared to the general population, the rate of |
| 22 | cardiovascular disease is 2.3 times higher, the rate of |
| 23 | respiratory disease is 3.2 times higher, and the rate of lung |
| 24 | cancer is 3 times higher among individuals with mental illness, |
| 25 | and |
| 26 | WHEREAS, tobacco use by individuals with mental illness is |
| 27 | a major public health issue that needs immediate attention |
| 28 | through focused cessation programs, and |
| 29 | WHEREAS, 75 percent of individuals with mental illness |
| 30 | smoke 3 to 4 times the rate of the general population, consuming |
| 31 | 44 percent of all cigarettes consumed in the United States, and |
| 32 | WHEREAS, Florida's public mental health system is severely |
| 33 | underfunded and currently ranks 49th in per capita spending on |
| 34 | mental health care, NOW, THEREFORE, |
| 35 |
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| 36 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 37 |
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| 38 | Section 1. Subsection (9) of section 210.011, Florida |
| 39 | Statutes, is amended, and subsection (10) is added to that |
| 40 | section, to read: |
| 41 | 210.011 Cigarette surcharge levied; collection.- |
| 42 | (9) Ninety-five percent of the revenue produced from the |
| 43 | surcharge levied under this section shall be deposited into the |
| 44 | Health Care Trust Fund within the Agency for Health Care |
| 45 | Administration. |
| 46 | (10) Five percent of the revenue produced from the |
| 47 | surcharge levied under this section shall be appropriated to the |
| 48 | Department of Children and Family Services for the purpose of |
| 49 | expanding community-based mental health services and providing |
| 50 | programs to reduce the rate of smoking among persons with mental |
| 51 | illness. These funds shall not be used to supplant general |
| 52 | revenue funds allocated to the Department of Children and Family |
| 53 | Services as of July 1, 2009. |
| 54 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2010. |