Thursday, March 28, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Thursday, March 22, 2018
Hawaii Scores $54M Windfall as Senior Partner in Tobacco Industry
By News Release @ 3:34 AM :: 4829 Views :: Ethics, Health Care

HAWAII REACHES MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR ARBITRATION SETTLEMENT WITH TOBACCO COMPANIES

Direct Payment to Hawaii in Excess of $54 million is Expected in 2018

News Release from Office of the Attorney General, March 14, 2018

HONOLULU – Acting Attorney General Russell Suzuki today announced that the State of Hawaii has agreed to a multi-million dollar arbitration settlement with the Tobacco Industry. The settlement resolves an ongoing dispute between the tobacco companies and Hawaii, relating to compliance with the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) from 2004 - 2017. As part of the settlement, the State expects to receive in excess of $54 million dollars in April 2018 from funds that have been withheld from Hawaii during the disputed years.

In 1998, leading United States tobacco manufacturers entered into the MSA with 46 States, including Hawaii, and the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In consideration for a release of past, present, and certain future claims, the manufacturers agreed to pay substantial monies to the settling States.

The MSA allows for adjustments in calculating the annual payments disbursed to the States. Hawaii, along with all of the other States who signed the MSA, has received adjusted annual payments. One such adjustment is the non-participating manufacturer (NPM) adjustment. The monies that are withheld due to the NPM adjustment go into the disputed payment account, which includes Hawaii’s portion or monies that Hawaii would have received had Hawaii prevailed in the diligent enforcement arbitration. The monies in the disputed payment account are at the center of the NPM arbitration, with hundreds of millions of dollars at stake for each contested year.

Hawaii joins several other States in entering into the current settlement. Twenty-five other States, Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia have previously settled with the tobacco industry. The settlement will not only spare Hawaii the risk of losing millions of dollars for each disputed year if an adverse ruling is received, but will save the State the expense and uncertainty of protracted litigation - litigation which would likely have lasted several decades.

# # #

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT