Champion cyclist Lance Armstrong is pedaling into California's ballot wars.
Armstrong announced Wednesday that his Livestrong Foundation is making a $1.5 million contribution to support a June ballot measure that would increase the state's tobacco tax to raise money for cancer research and anti-smoking programs.
Armstrong, a cancer survivor, also supported the drive to put Proposition 29 on the ballot. He said the measure "will save lives, stop kids from smoking" and support the search for cancer cures.
"We feel that it's worth every penny," he said of the proposed $1-a-pack tax hike.
Other backers include the American Cancer Society and the American Lung Association.
The Proposition 29 campaign is expected to ignite a multimillion-dollar fight. A campaign committee created to oppose the measure reported $2.67 million in contributions in 2011, all from tobacco company Philip Morris USA and its parent company, Altria.
A committee to support the measure reported raising $1.39 million in the same period.
California Taxpayers Association President Teresa Casazza, among the opposition, said in a statement: "Now is not the time for Lance Armstrong to come into our state and ask us to support a flawed measure like Prop. 29."
>BY THE NUMBERS
California has the nation's highest state sales tax rate, but its overall rate, including local taxes, is 12th highest, according to the Washington-based Tax Foundation. The state levies a 7.25 percent rate, and local governments bring the overall average to 8.11 percent. In a few jurisdictions, the overall rate approaches 10 percent, according the State Board of Equalization.
>WORTH REPEATING
"It could help your campaign like it did Donald Trump."
ORLY TAITZ, suggesting to GOP presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich this week in Pasadena that he would get a bump in the polls if he picked up her "birther" crusade. He told the fellow Republican it was a project she should pursue.
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.
What You Should Know About Comments on Sacbee.com
Sacbee.com is happy to provide a forum for reader interaction, discussion, feedback and reaction to our stories. However, we reserve the right to delete inappropriate comments or ban users who can't play nice. (See our full terms of service here.)
Here are some rules of the road:
• Keep your comments civil. Don't insult one another or the subjects of our articles. If you think a comment violates our guidelines click the "Report Abuse" link to notify the moderators. Responding to the comment will only encourage bad behavior.
• Don't use profanities, vulgarities or hate speech. This is a general interest news site. Sometimes, there are children present. Don't say anything in a way you wouldn't want your own child to hear.
• Do not attack other users; focus your comments on issues, not individuals.
• Stay on topic. Only post comments relevant to the article at hand.
• Do not copy and paste outside material into the comment box.
• Don't repeat the same comment over and over. We heard you the first time.
• Do not use the commenting system for advertising. That's spam and it isn't allowed.
• Don't use all capital letters. That's akin to yelling and not appreciated by the audience.
• Don't flag other users' comments just because you don't agree with their point of view. Please only flag comments that violate these guidelines.
You should also know that The Sacramento Bee does not screen comments before they are posted. You are more likely to see inappropriate comments before our staff does, so we ask that you click the "Report Abuse" link to submit those comments for moderator review. You also may notify us via email at feedback@sacbee.com. Note the headline on which the comment is made and tell us the profile name of the user who made the comment. Remember, comment moderation is subjective. You may find some material objectionable that we won't and vice versa.
If you submit a comment, the user name of your account will appear along with it. Users cannot remove their own comments once they have submitted them.
About Comments
Reader comments on Sacbee.com are the opinions of the writer, not The Sacramento Bee. If you see an objectionable comment, click the "Report Abuse" link below it. We will delete comments containing inappropriate links, obscenities, hate speech, and personal attacks. Flagrant or repeat violators will be banned. See more about comments here.