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HomeNewsArchivesTURNBULL SIGNS TOBACCO SETTLEMENT BILL

TURNBULL SIGNS TOBACCO SETTLEMENT BILL

July 1, 2001 – Gov. Charles W. Turnbull has signed into law amendments to the territory's Tobacco Settlement Act, bringing the territory into compliance with the 1998 Tobacco Settlement Agreement and opening the way for up to $50 million to flow into government coffers over the next 25 years.
Previously unaware that the local law was not in compliance with the master settlement agreement reached in 1998, Turnbull last week called a special session of the Legislature to amend the act by the July 1 deadline.
The tobacco settlement gives the Virgin Islands and other states and territories cash payments in exchange for exempting tobacco companies from future legal action. The statute the territory was required to enact in order to participate in the deal contained typing and technical language errors.
After spending four hours reviewing and revising the bill during the special session Friday morning, the Legislature approved the amendments by a vote of 14-1, with Sen. Adelbert M. Bryan offering the dissenting vote.

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