Beebe says he's flexible on cigarette tax proposal

LITTLE ROCK Gov. Mike Beebe said Friday he is willing to consider a slight reduction in a proposed 56-cent increase in the state cigarette tax as long as all components of the health care plan he has proposed are funded.

Since Beebe unveiled his plan, the centerpiece of which is creation a statewide trauma system, some lawmakers have questioned the need for a nearly $88 million tax increase when the trauma center would cost $30 million or less. Some have suggested alternatives to raise that much and no more. Others have suggested scaling back the number of programs that would be funded and reducing the tax amount.

"Is a penny or two pennies a make or break deal, no, but a penny or two pennies, if it broke those programs or didn't enable you to sufficiently fund those programs, that would be a problem," the governor said after a ceremony dedicating the new hospital at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

"You all are couching it as an all or nothing," he told reporters. "As I have indicated, tweaking on some amounts, or some minor things, is always possible. I'm not one of those 'may way or the highway' kind of guys. "However, there are certain lines beyond which you will not go and certain things upon you will not compromise."

Also in the middle of the debate is a proposal in Congress to raise the federal excise tax on cigarettes by 61 cents to pay for expanding children's health insurance.

"If somebody needed an extra $500,000 in this (health care program) or $1 million off of this one, or we couldn't afford 20 percent of this program or 50 percent of that program, that's something you would not just close your door to talking about," Beebe said.

Earlier, during the hospital dedication, the governor spoke of the need for the tax increase and its importance to improving overall health care in the state.