Last week we passed a 50-cents per pack cigarette tax that will keep the cost of car tags from rising and should act as a preventive measure that will keep many young people from ever starting the habit of smoking.

We in the Legislature never like to increase taxes on anything.

However, as we face a $350 million revenue shortfall this fiscal year that experts say won’t improve anytime soon, we had no choice except to raise the tax on cigarettes in order to replenish the fund that allows us to keep car tags affordable.

We expect the increase to generate $106 million in 2009. Of that amount, $25 million will go toward car tags.

With research showing that most children start smoking at age 13, maybe our actions will stop somebody’s child from taking that first puff and becoming addicted to nicotine for the rest of their lives.

It was Mississippi’s first increase on cigarettes in more than 20 years. In fiscal year 2010, the increase is expected to generate $27 million for the car tag reduction fund to keep car tags from rising in cost.

We debated for over two and a half hours S.C.R. 630 — an attempt by some senators to object to guidelines we must follow to spend federal stimulus money — I voted against it because it was an attempt, in my opinion, to discredit the federal government for all the good things that they do here in Mississippi.

When we had Hurricane Katrina, the most devastating natural disaster in the history of this state, our biggest helper was the federal government. I also have a problem with the governor leaving $54 million on the table in unemployment benefits.

In helping our counties who are facing decreased revenue collections while their infrastructure needs continue to grow, we passed House Bill 1 that will allow them to use general fund money to build roads and bridges when they have no other sources of revenue to do so.

We are scheduled to come back to the Capitol at 1 p.m. on May 26, to begin adopting the budget that will include using $2.8 billion in federal stimulus money.

Sen. Kelvin BUTLER is a state senator representing a portion of Adams County.