The Idea

Early in 1986 Gerald Meral, executive director of the Planning and Conservation League (PCL), a statewide California environmental group based in Sacramento, approached his friend Curt Mekemson, who worked for the ALA, to discuss his idea of increasing the tobacco tax by five cents and using the proceeds for environmental programs. Such a tax would raise the price of cigarettes and reduce smoking, a goal of Mekemson's, while raising money for environmental programs, one of Meral's goals. Meral knew that Mekemson, in his previous job as executive director of the Alaska Lung Association, had spearheaded the successful effort to double Alaska's cigarette tax from eight cents to sixteen cents.

Mekemson put Meral off: “I told Gerry, no, I wasn't interested. I was going backpacking for six months, but I might talk to him afterwards. So I went off and did my backpacking trip.”^[1]

Meral did not take no for an answer. In September 1986, when Mekemson returned from backpacking to work as the legislative director of ALA's Sacramento Emigrant Trails affiliate, Meral cornered him again with the same question.^[1] This time Mekemson said yes.

Mekemson and Meral recruited two other legislative advocates: Tony Najera, director of government relations at ALA, and Betsy Hite, director of public issues at ACS. The four began conducting research and planning strategy. Although Meral had originally proposed an increase of only five cents per pack, Mekemson felt that the increase should be larger and that revenues should also support tobacco prevention and education programs. In an October memorandum to Najera, Mekemson stated that “the majority of the funds should go toward supporting health related programs, [and] that within health related programs our greatest focus should be on prevention [with] a portion of the funds directly related to the smoking issue.”^[2]