A Virginia Democrat has introduced a bill in the state legislature that would increase the per-pack cigarette tax by nearly 700 percent.
Del. Rob Krupicka, who represents Alexandria, wants to raise the tax on each pack of cigarettes from just 30 cents to $2, arguing that Virginia needs to "bring the tax in line with the rest of the East Coast."
Virginia currently has the second-lowest tax on cigarettes in the country, falling behind only Missouri.
Included in the bill are also tax hikes on other tobacco products, such as a new 18 cent tax on each ounce of "moist snuff" and a $4.20 tax on each pound of "loose leaf tobacco."
Tobacco products not mentioned in the legislation would be taxed at a rate of 60 percent of the manufacturers sale price.
One of the cosponsors for the bill is Del. Joe Morrissey, a Democrat who was reelected in a special election the day before the General Assembly reconvened and is currently serving a six-month jail sentence for his sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl.
Krupicka called for Morrissey to resign in December of last year, saying that Morrissey’s "conviction for acts related to his improper relationship with a minor bring discredit to the legislature."
In an interview with the Washington Free Beacon, Krupicka said that he has no control over who decides to sponsor his legislation.
"In the General Assembly, anybody can sponsor a bill if they want to," said Krupicka. He added that he was "happy to have anybody that supports the bill openly support it," including Morrissey.
Krupicka argues that the massive tax hike on tobacco products would stop criminals from trafficking cigarettes sold in Virginia into neighboring states. However, his main selling point for the new tax is that it would create $500 million in revenue that would go to local governments and must be spent on education.
Virginia teachers, however, say they have been duped before by promises for more funding, and say that the pledge that the increased revenue will go to education could be misleading.
"There is no guarantee that the local governments will use the increased state funding to increase overall school budgets," said a Richmond area high school teacher. "The counties will probably just divert local funds to other areas."
Virginia has duped the state for decades into thinking that its lottery funds education. Lottery legislation was initially pitched as a way to provide bonus funding for schools but is now used by the state to supplant basic state obligations to local schools.
Krupicka admitted that this certainly could be the case, but argued that the only way to get more money for education is to increase the state’s total revenue.
"That’s always possible with any dollar that comes in, but if you think education needs more money, then you have to add more to the overall pot," Krupicka said.
Krupicka says that even should his legislation fail he will continue "banging the drum" for the tobacco tax hike.
"Raising taxes is always a challenge," he said. "If it doesn’t pass this year, I am going to bring it up next year."
The odds of it passing the Republican-controlled legislature are slim.
Republican Speaker William J. Howell will not be supporting the legislation, and a spokesman for his office told the Free Beacon that "there is no interest in the House of Delegates for a $500 million tax increase."
"Our economy is already suffering under sequestration, Obamacare, and President Obama's federal tax increases," said spokesman Matthew Moran. "The goal of the House of Delegates is to pass a conservative, responsible budget that doesn't raise taxes or fees and protect tax breaks that work for Virginia businesses and families."