First 5 California

Back in 1998, the state of California passed a law that raised taxes on each pack of cigarettes by 50 cents. This tax was used to create a health program for the state’s smallest members called the California Children and Families Commission, otherwise known as First 5 California. According to the Commission, they were formed to, “oversee and support the funding of education, health and child care programs for children ages 0 to 5 and their families.”

This program distributes 80 percent of these cigarette tax funds to the localities with the highest birth rate. The remaining 20 percent is used for the administration of the program. The budget for 2012 is over a half million dollars, they have a proposed budget of $547 thousand for the 2011-2012 tax year. This is up from last year’s $469 thousand estimated 2010-2011 budget, but down from 2009-2010’s actual expenditures of $615 thousand. It was not clear from the state’s financial site how these budget figures compared to the actual tax revenue created through the cigarette taxing program.

While the state can do whatever the taxpayers want with cigarette tax money, it does make sense to help smokers quit with these revenues. Research shows that children who watch their parents smoke are more likely to start themselves, so helping parents stop smoking, especially pregnant mothers, would have a direct impact on the health of young children. The First 5 California program doesn’t seem to address the smoking issue at all. With budget cuts looming in every state in the country, it’s probably not likely this is a place they would expand into either.

References:
http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/StateAgencyBudgets/4000/4250/spr.html
http://www.ccfc.ca.gov/commission/about_us.asp

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