UST Inc. Lobbied New Mexico Governor
Tobacco company UST Inc. lobbied the New Mexico Legislature this year for tax changes and provided Gov. Bill Richardson with tens of thousands of dollars worth of free flights, the Albuquerque Journal reported.
UST is the parent corporation of the firm that makes Skoal and Copenhagen, among other brands.
The newspaper's review of Democratic Governors Association records was reported in a copyright story in Sunday's editions.
The five free flights provided to Richardson through the association, which he chairs, in 2005 and early 2006 were worth more than $40,000, the newspaper reported.
A tax change bill, sponsored by Richardson's chief legislative ally, House Speaker Ben Lujan, proposed linking chewing tobacco tax to weight.
New Mexico currently taxes the tobacco at 25 percent of the manufacturer's price, meaning higher-priced products such as Skoal and Copenhagen are taxed more than budget brands.
Under Lujan's bill, a budget brand of the same weight would have carried the same tax as a can of Skoal.
The measure passed the House after a state financial impact report to lawmakers drastically was changed using UST's numbers, but it died in the Senate. Critics said it exclusively would have benefited UST.
Mike Bazinet, spokesman for Connecticut-based UST, acknowledged the bill would have favored UST.
Pahl Shipley, a spokesman for Richardson, said the governor never was briefed on Lujan's bill and had no position on it.
