Tobacco tax measure makes November ballot

DENVER - Colorado voters will get to decide this November whether to triple the amount of taxes on a pack of cigarettes purchased in the state.

The Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams announced Monday that the group behind the tax measure proposal has collected enough signatures to be on the November ballot.

Backers of the "New cigarette and tobacco taxes" proposal submitted their petition signatures on August 8. Williams said the measure gathered a greater number of signatures than is required for placement on the ballot.

Initiative No. 143 would amend Colorado's constitution so that starting in January taxes on a pack of cigarettes would increase from 84 cents per pack to $2.59 per pack. The tax on other tobacco products would increase by 22 percent of the manufacturers' list price. The language in the measure spells out how specific percentages of tax revenues would be spent.