It's a great day to be a smoker in Oklahoma.
Yesterday morning, The Oklahoma Supreme Court surprised absolutely no one (with a brain) by ruling the well-intentioned but unconstitutional cigarette fee increase passed during the last legislative session was, indeed, unconstitutional.
Here are the details via Double-D Denwalt with NewsOK.com:
The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a $1.50 cigarette fee scheduled to go into effect this month is an unconstitutional tax, setting the stage for another fight over spending at the state Capitol.
The decision strips $215 million from the state budget, specifically from agencies that provide health services. Gov. Mary Fallin said she thinks a special legislative session is inevitable, and several lawmakers have called for another mid-year gathering to fill the new shortfall.
"These agencies and the people they serve cannot sustain the kind of cuts that will occur if we do not find a solution," Fallin said. "My belief is we will have to come into special session to address this issue."
Yep, stock Junior's with extra whiskey, cue the karaoke machine at Nancy's Lighthouse, and wake up the teenage male prostitutes, and it looks like we're having a rare special session of the Oklahoma legislature! I can't wait. It will be interesting to see what type of tough, kick the can down the road, sacrifice the well-being of Oklahoma citizens to protect the profits of the energy industry legislation our incompetent lawmakers come up with this time around.