A proposed constitutional amendment to dedicate tobacco settlement money to health care puts the future of the Michigan Merit Award Scholarship program in jeopardy.
The Citizens for a Healthy Michigan Coalition introduced the Healthy Michigan Amendment in March.
The proposed amendment would dedicate 90 percent of funds from the nationwide tobacco lawsuit settlement of 1998 to health care.
According to the state budget office, $328 million of the settlement money, or 31 percent, is set aside for the 2002 Merit Award Scholarship program.
The Legislature appropriates the money to a variety of programs, but the members of the coalition contend more of it should go to health-related programs.
The coalition consists of the American Lung Association of Michigan, the American Cancer Society and the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, among others.
Members are collecting signatures to get the proposal on November’s ballot.
“It’s only right that the tobacco money be spent providing care to those who didn’t heed the warnings, or couldn’t break the addiction and who now suffer from a disease that’s an inevitable cost of smoking,” said David Jahn, chairman of the Michigan Health and Hospital Association Corporate Board.
Meanwhile student groups are denouncing the amendment, saying students will be denied a valuable resource for school.
Jared English, ASMSU’s Academic Assembly director of university, governmental and budgetary affairs, said the coalition is misleading the public about the amendment’s implications.
“They’re not telling parents when they’re signing petitions that scholarships will be taken away from their children,” he said.
“It really hurts students.”
Area legislators feel either the scholarship program needs to be reworked or a new funding source created to accommodate the proposed amendment.
State Rep. Virg Bernero, D-Lansing, contends basing the scholarships on academic performance and need as opposed to MEAP scores would produce a better cross section of students.
“I am suspicious of over-reliance on test scores,” he said.
“I definitely feel we need to expand access to higher education, but my goal is not to provide money to people who don’t need it.”
Bernero said the Michigan Legislature needs to stand up to the tobacco companies.
“This citizen initiative has real potential to break the strangle-hold the tobacco industry has over this legislative process.” he said.
State Rep. Gretchen Whitmer, D-East Lansing, said she wants to make sure former Attorney General Frank Kelly’s original intention when making the settlement stays intact.
“As a legislator, I hate to see our ability to appropriate state funds taken away,” she said.
“But Frank Kelly didn’t sue Big Tobacco so money could be distributed to scholarships or budget holes could be patched up.”
Last year, 4,500 to 4,800 students came to MSU with the scholarship bringing $10 million to $12 million to the university, English said. Given the state’s current financial situation, he said it’s ridiculous to suggest the scholarship find a different funding source.
“Depending on who you talk to, there’s a $350 million to $500 million budget deficit,” he said.
“There’s nowhere in the foreseeable future where this money could come from.”
Geralyn Lasher, Michigan Department of Community Health director of communications, said money from the tobacco settlement currently goes toward respite care, long-term care for seniors, the senior citizens prescription program and other health-related programs.
“They make it seem like there’s not a dime going to health care, which just isn’t true,” she said of the coalition.
“They make it seem like there’s not a dime going to health care, which just isn’t true,” Lasher said.
“In the settlement, there was never any clear mandate that stated, ‘Spend funding in a certain way.’ It was left up to the Legislature to appropriate it, which should be true for any state money.”
