California: Signatures turned in for tobacco tax increase in 2012
On Wednesday, Don Perata (D) — Oakland mayoral candidate and former Senate President Pro Tempore — and other supporters of a proposed tobacco tax measure said they have submitted more than enough petition signatures to put the measure on the 2012 ballot, the San Jose Mercury News reports. The initiative — called the California Cancer Research Act — would increase California’s cigarette tax by $1 per pack to raise funds for cancer research (Richman, San Jose Mercury News, 6/30).