TOMBLIN REJECTS RECOMMENDATIONS Tomblin Rejects Recommendations To Tap Rainy Day Fund
Reported by: Associated Press
Web Producer: Jeff Morris
Reported: Jan. 30, 2013 1:00 PM EST
Eyewitness News Photo
Charleston
, Kanawha County
, West Virginia
Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin is rejecting recommendations to tap the state's rainy day fund and raise taxes on alcohol and cigarettes to fund solutions to West Virginia's drug problem.
Spokeswoman Amy Shuler Goodwin said he won't embrace those two recommendations from the Advisory Council on Substance Abuse that he created in 2011.
The Charleston Daily Mail said a report released last week had nine recommendations, including the two aimed at building treatment centers for some 150,000 addicts.
The experts said raising cigarette taxes could create revenue for prevention or recovery programs.
But council member Rick Staton said he didn't expect Tomblin to embrace the ideas.
Tomblin won re-election last fall after pledging not to raise taxes.
Experts have linked child abuse and overcrowded prisons to the state's drug problem.
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Associated Press
