Conclusion

The lawsuits did several useful things for the Proposition 99 programs. They increased the visibility of the Proposition 99 issue, framing it not as sick babies versus prevention but as voter-approved initiatives versus illegal legislative deals. For the constituency in the field, those who worked on the programs on a daily basis, the lawsuits showed a greater level of commitment to protecting those programs than they had seen before in Sacramento. The lawsuits showed that the health groups were willing to fight for the Proposition 99 programs and to fight for them outside the world of Capitol insider politics. The litigation also engaged ANR in the fight over Proposition 99. Although ANR was not working with the voluntary health agencies, ANR's experience in grassroots political fights had the potential to be useful in protecting Proposition 99.

In 1996 new legislation would again be needed to authorize the Proposition 99 programs. Regardless of the legality or illegality of AB 816 and SB 493, both were facing a sunset deadline on June 30, 1996. The question before tobacco control advocates was how they could exploit both their legal victories and their organizational strengths in a way that would make full funding of the anti-tobacco education and research programs a reality.