tobacco tax

Yellowstone County elections officials say they expect a delay in counting mail-in ballots this year because the absentee ballot has two pages. The second page of the ballot includes the two ballot initiatives. Statewide results of the initiatives to increase tobacco taxes to pay for Medicaid expansion and another to set cleanup requirements for proposed hard rock mines may not be available until

Montana’s November ballot will include more than the hotly contested races for U.S. House and Senate, as voters will weigh in on proposals to increase tobacco taxes and create new water standards for hard-rock mines. Secretary of State Corey Stapleton’s office announced Wednesday that Initiatives 185 and 186 both received enough voter signatures to qualify for the ballot...

The Montana Senate approved a big increase in state tobacco taxes on Thursday, which supporters said would help fund health-care costs, but sparked emotional reaction from opponents of the measure.  KTVQ.com reports the Senate voted 27-22 in favor SB 354, which increases cigarette taxes by $1...