Signatures submitted for California tobacco tax

SAN DIEGO (AP) – A campaign backed by a billionaire, medical groups and organized labor says it has collected more than a million signatures to qualify a ballot measure to raise California’s cigarette tax by $2 a pack.

Leaders of the Save Lives California campaign unloaded several boxes of signatures Monday at the San Diego County registrar of voters office and intend to deliver more to counties throughout the state.

Nearly 600,000 signatures of registered voters must be verified for the proposed state constitutional amendment to make the Nov. 8 ballot. It would nearly triple California’s tax to $2.87 a pack.

Wealthy environmentalist Tom Steyer says the campaign is personal for him because his mother had a three-pack-a-day habit and died of lung cancer.

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