Boyd bill to expand Tobacco Settlement Fund in Pa. passes House, Senate

Rep. Heather Boyd    September 21, 2023 | 2:02 PM

HARRISBURG, Sept. 21 – The state Senate this week passed a bill that state Rep. Heather Boyd introduced to help fund more tobacco cessation in Pennsylvania.

Once signed by the governor, H.B. 1407 would change the definition of "units sold" in the Master Settlement Agreement Act to include all cigarettes in the commonwealth as “units sold” so that tobacco companies pay their share of the settlement commensurate with the product that each company places in Pennsylvania.

“Under this simple bill, the new data will allow Pennsylvania to more closely meet the impact that cigarettes are having on health in Pennsylvania and show us where we still have opportunities to cut use and collect tax,” Boyd said. “This new adjustment will help our commonwealth heal faster from the wounds that cigarette smoke has caused for generations now.”

The bill is the freshman legislator’s first bill to pass the General Assembly.

“I’d like to thank my colleagues for helping me get this simple yet important change over the line in Harrisburg,” she said. “Emphysema doesn’t wait or pick sides – and neither did we.”

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