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Weatherford Democrat

Galen Scott

Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott lavished State Rep. Phil King (R-Weatherford) with praise at a fundraiser in Weatherford Tuesday.

Abbott, famous for a successful U.S. Supreme Court bid to keep a monument to the Ten Commandments at the state capitol, said King’s leadership has been valuable to decision makers in Austin.

“I can assure you that we definitely need Phil King back in Austin, Texas,” Abbott said in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the Doss Heritage and Culture Center.

King has worked closely with Abbott’s office on a host of legal and constitutional issues associated with new voter security legislation.

As illegal immigration debates in Congress heated up this summer, King pushed bills in the Texas Legislature that would require proof of citizenship and photo identification before a person is allowed to register to vote.

King’s initiative failed to find enough support in the Legislature after Democrats voiced opposition, but some version of the proposal is expected to surface again.

“It is a very personal issue to me, and I can tell you, to my constituents,” King said.

Following a brief speech, Abbott said most of the illegal voting prosecutions his office has dealt with have been referred by either the Secretary of State’s office or local prosecutors.

He said cases where people are using the identity of dead people, and citizens are registering illegal immigrants and then voting in their place, have originated around the state.

When asked whether proof-of-citizenship or photo-ID voting requirements like King’s previous proposals are likely to become law, Abbott said the issue is more political than legal.

“I think that when people recognize that it is a real issue across the state, the people who stand to lose are the people across the state whose vote is being undermined by illegal votes that are being cast,” he said. “It impacts people across both parties, and across all demographic groups. As a result, hopefully it’s the kind of thing everyone across the state can support.”

King drew Republican opposition to his legislative seat for the first time ever Monday when Weatherford Mayor Joe Tison announced his candidacy.

Capitol Inside

Mike Hailey

A state House race that’s only four days old has already become a testing ground for a proposal that would dramatically change the way the public education is funded in Texas.

State Rep. Phil King of Weatherford sparked a debate that promises to produce fireworks all across Texas when he revealed that he and about 30 other state legislators had been working on a plan to replace property taxes with consumption taxes as the chief source of public school funding.

King dropped the bombshell at a fundraiser in Decatur a few days before Weatherford Mayor Joe Tison announced this week as a Republican primary candidate for the House District 61 seat that the incumbent is seeking again next year. The surprising admission on a new push to overhaul the state’s school financing system has ignited a war of words in the Tison-King race on a topic that has the potential to become a top-priority issue in all of the contested legislative contests across Texas in 2008.

Tison, a former school superintendent and high school principal, declared Thursday that a consumption tax that King favors would hit middle-class families and small business hardest. Tison asserted that property tax savings under the plan that King had floated would be more than offset by higher costs for food, drugs, medical treatment, car repairs, utility bills and other items that are currently exempt from state and local sales taxes.

Tison, who was recruited for the House race by the Texas Parent PAC and other education advocates, called the proposed school tax shift “another example of how politicians initiate something without asking their local constituents what effect it has on their schools, their government, or their living standards.” Tison challenged King to name other members of the group that’s been discussing the possibility of converting to consumption taxes for public school funding

But King upped the ante instead of backing off by proposing a constitutional amendment designed to abolish the school maintenance and operations portion of taxes that are paid on property and replenish lost revenues with a state consumption tax.

King isn’t the first state lawmaker to advocate a shift to consumption taxes as the primary funding source for public education. Republican Talmadge Heflin, who chaired the Appropriations Committee before losing his re-election bid in 2004, was a longtime proponent of higher consumption taxes for school funding in exchange for significant reductions in taxes on property. Conservative organizations such as the Texas Public Policy Foundation have argued in favor of consumption taxes as an alternative to levies on property to finance public schools in Texas.

Conservatives have made the same basic case for consumption taxes at the national level as a way to reduce or to even put an end to the federal government’s reliance on income taxes. But the push for such as shift in Austin has stalled in times past after opponents have branded consumption taxes as regressive and argued that exemptions on food and medicine would have to be eliminated before a sufficient amount of revenue could be generated. Despite past resistance, conservatives such as Grover Norquist of the Americans for Tax Reform at the national level and Michael Quinn Sullivan of the Texans for Fiscal Responsibility here in the state have stepped up their efforts as taxes on income and property seem to become more unpopular with many of the people who pay them each year.

But the meetings that King referred to at the fundraiser are the first sign of a concerted effort among lawmakers being under way at the Capitol on a major school finance proposal since the Legislature approved a public education funding plan that revolved on a new state business tax in a special session in early 2006.

Sullivan praised King for “jump-starting” the discussion about a shift from property to consumption taxes to fund Texas schools. “Texans know the time is long overdue to rip the poisonous weed of property taxes out of the state’s economic garden,” Sullivan said.

But King’s critics contend that a major expansion of the sales tax base – even without exemptions on food and medicine – would not bring in enough additional revenue to make up for the funds that would be lost if M&O taxes were eliminated. The state raised more than $17 billion for school maintenance and operations from property taxes in 2005. Property taxes accounted for about 44 percent of the total state and local tax bite in Texas that year while 30 percent came from sales taxes. While conservatives contend that consumption taxes are a funding source that’s more stable, transparent and fair, some Democrats see the push to increase them as a step in the direction of a school vouchers plan.

With Tison expecting some degree of crossover support from Democrats and independent voters in the GOP primary election next year, King might see the tax shift plan as an issue to help energize the support he has among more conservative Republican voters in his bid for a sixth term.

While King and Tison battle for the GOP nomination in HD 61, Democrat Chuck Randolph of Decatur is considering a campaign for the seat as well. No other Democrats are in the running so far in the race for King’s seat in a district that covers Parker Wise counties west of the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

Weatherford Democrat

Galen Scott

State Rep. Phil King (R-Weatherford) wants a constitutional ban on the use of property taxes to fund public schools in Texas.

“I am absolutely convinced that my constituents, and frankly, the voters across Texas would rather pay a sales tax when they purchase something than a property tax for the rest of their life,” King said speaking by phone Wednesday.

King actually let the cat out of the bag at a fundraiser in Weatherford Tuesday. He told supporters a special House committee has been formed and charged with studying how to abolish the use of property taxes to fund public schools.

King said he was asked to chair the committee, but because he drew an opponent in the March primary election, may simply serve as a member instead.

The committee will probably consist of between nine and 15 representatives, to be named by House Speaker Tom Craddick (R-Midland) in January, according to King.

In addition to targeting current sales tax exemptions, King said the committee will be looking at the possibility of taxing electronic transactions.

“But the heart of it is going to be a retail sales tax,” King said.

The plan only applies to the maintenance and operation side of public school tax rates, which King said would bring about an average 56.1 percent reduction in everyone’s property tax bill in the state of Texas.

In addition to killing the Robin Hood debate, King said sales tax could alleviate problems in the housing market by decreasing mortgage payments. He noted the state budget is funded by sales tax, and said the move would represent a dependable source of funding for public schools.

“School property taxes might have worked 40 or 50 years ago, but it doesn’t work today and it’s never going to work again,” he said.

Weatherford Mayor Joe Tison, King’s opponent in the Republican primary election, was interested in hearing more specifics about King’s plan Wednesday.

“Who is he going to tax?” Tison asked. “Is it going to include doctors, realtors, restaurants? Is it going to be an assault on small business and middle class families?”

Tison said sales tax is known as a regressive tax.

“If you’re going to put the sales tax on goods and services, and replace the property tax with that, well, we’re not in the best of economies right now, and if our economy goes south, then there is going to be a decrease in spending and ultimately less revenue coming to public schools,” Tison added.

Tison also expressed concerns about what affect the change might have on things like medical care, housing, food and essential services.

King’s answer to critics concerned a sales tax would put a disproportionate burden on lower income families involves a rebate.

“The way you avoid a negative impact on the poor, is that at the end of the year, you make sure sales tax is rebated to them based on what the poverty level is for that year,” he said.

Once the committee members are announced, King said the group will begin holding a series of hearings across the state.

In order to abolish property-tax funded schools in Texas, the state constitution would have to be amended, a move which requires the support of two-thirds of the Legislature just to get on the ballot.

King said he expects vehement opposition from Democratic members of the Legislature, but is convinced, “by the time we get into the legislative session, that Republican House members and members of the Senate all across the state of Texas are going to want to do this.”

After testing the water at every service club and chamber of commerce in Parker and Wise Counties last summer, King said he finally decided sales taxes are the way to go.

“It’s a give me liberty or give me death kind of thing,” he said. “The citizens of the state of Texas are saying, ‘give me sales tax instead of property tax.’”

Contact Information:
(817)596-8100

Austin – Citing the need to secure a more reliable, long-term solution to fund schools, State Representative Phil King (R-Weatherford) today called for a constitutional amendment to abolish school property taxes in Texas and instead fully fund public education with the sales tax system.

King said, “Over the past several months, I’ve talked about this proposal at almost every service club and chamber in my district, and the response is always the same: Texans overwhelmingly prefer the sales tax to out of control property taxes. They know there is a better way to finance public education without punishing businesses, taxpayers and jeopardizing the American Dream of home ownership.”

“Property owners are at their wits end, because the school property tax is like a variable rate mortgage on a loan that is never paid off. You never really get to own your property. I believe it is time to admit that the school property tax system just cannot be fixed. The courts have tried, the legislature has tried, school districts and appraisal districts have tried. The problem is that we are trying to correct a fundamentally flawed means of financing public schools. Texans are tired of dealing with this broken model, and it’s frankly time to start over.”

“A plan to fully fund public education can be structured in a way that protects our low income citizens, benefits our schools and strengthens our economy. Consumption taxes are fair, predictable and will spread the cost of education over the economy at large. Abolishing school property taxes would dramatically reduce mortgage payments, put real money in all property owners’ pockets, and provide a needed boost to the building and real estate industries. Lease rates would go down. Some foreclosures could be averted. Even the underground economy, as well as those here illegally, would be forced to help finance our schools.”

Weatherford Democrat

Phil Riddle

A group of Texas legislators, including Weatherford’s Phil King, have asked the Secretary of State to re-evaluate current voter identification criteria.

In a letter sent late last week, the group of lawmakers, representing the Texas Conservative Coalition, requested Secretary of State Phil Wilson take steps to implement more stringent proof of citizenship requirements before casting a ballot in Texas.

“It has been state policy to simply accept an applicant’s mere assertion of United States citizenship,” the letter states. “That policy has always been unacceptable, but it is time that it is scrapped.”

The letter writers contend thousands of illegal votes have been cast statewide by voters not legally allowed to vote.

“Each non-citizen who votes cancels out the vote of a citizen, leading to voter disenfranchisement,” Texas Conservative Coalition members wrote.

The 13 lawmakers who signed the letter also ask the Secretary of State, as the state’s top election official, to aggressively deal with anyone voting illegally.

“Every effort should be made to prosecute those individuals who have knowingly made false statements on voter registration applications,” the letter reads. “Texas should not continue to rely solely on the jury duty mechanism to catch and purge foreign nationals from our voting rolls.”

Specifically, the coalition asks Wilson to implement a plan for voter identification before the November 2008 general election to identify new registrants as United States citizens. The group suggests the Secretary of State’s office use and cross-check data available from the Bureau of Vital Statistics, and federal data bases including the Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements list and the Employment Eligibility Verification Program.

District 61 Rep. Phil King, (R) Weatherford, said he hopes the letter spurs Wilson to action.

“What we’re hoping is he’ll come up with his own initiative,” King said. “One that, hopefully, won’t require legislation.”

Wilson spokesman Scott Haywood said the Secretary of State has not received the letter from the Texas Conservative Coalition, so he could not comment specifically on its contents.

He added Wilson will follow the guidance of the Legislature.

“If they decide we need more or better means of identification, we’ll do that,” Haywood said. “We’ll do whatever is necessary to maintain the integrity of the elections system in Texas.”

King filed House Bill 626 last spring in the 80th Legislature hoping to put teeth into current identification and citizenship statutes pertaining to elections.

“I thought it was a no-brainer,” King said. “I was called a bigot and called out for trying to limit minority voting rights. There was a bitter fight on the floor of the House.”

He added the voting went almost exclusively along party lines, but the measure did pass the House. However, the bill did not get enough support in the Senate to get a hearing.

The letter writers assert voter fraud tied to growing numbers of illegal aliens is becoming a problem across Texas.

“There is a ballot crisis brewing,” their epistle states, “citing testimony of Harris County Tax Assessor/Collector Paul Bettencourt, who told the United State House of Representatives Committee on House Administration that he identified 35 foreign nationals who either applied for or received voter registration documents in 2005. According to the letter, Bettencourt’s office has canceled registration cards for non-citizenship for 3,742 voters since 1992.

The Texas Conservative Coalition Research Institute reports in Bexar, Dallas, Tarrant and El Paso counties, almost 3,000 voters were removed from registration rolls for non-citizenship.

“I have 6,500 names of people who are on the voter registration rolls and should not be,” King said. “We know there are tens of thousands in the state.”

King said he began looking at Texas voter registration criteria after the Carter Baker Commission came back with suggested federal guidelines two years ago.

“I was astounded at the depth of the problem,” he said.

Weatherford Democrat

Galen Scott

Telecom giant AT&T announced plans to offer high-speed DSL Internet to thousands of mostly East Parker County homes at a press conference Thursday.

Jim Epperson, president of AT&T Texas, unveiled plans to build new infrastructure by next year that would increase the number of Parker County homes with high-speed Internet access by 30 percent.

“If you are in a place that is served by a competitor — a cable company or anybody else — it will be good because now, suddenly, you’ll have at least two companies competing for your business,” Epperson told a small audience assembled in the Weatherford College Alkek Fine Arts complex. “And good things usually happen when companies compete for your business.”

In addition to some Parker County locations that currently lack any high-speed Internet service, Epperson said the company plans to concentrate the expansion in and around Aledo, Silver Creek, Lake Weatherford, Willow Park and parts of Weatherford.

State Rep. Phil King, chairman of the House Regulated Industries Committee, spoke briefly at the press conference, emphasizing the benefits of high-speed Internet. He noted school curriculums are increasingly reliant on the Internet, and pointed out the importance of sending kids off to college Internet-proficient.

“From an economic development standpoint, everywhere the Internet goes, frankly, the money follows,” King added. “It’s just a wonderful opportunity for people to build business, and particularly for small businesses in communities like ours.”

Ann Saunders, chair of the Doss Culture and Heritage Center, AT&T’s biggest Parker County beneficiary, noted distance learning and telemedicine services also depend on the Internet.

“We really pride ourselves on our small-town charm, but we still need access to the newest technology at the most affordable prices in order to keep our community thriving and our economy strong and growing,” she said.

King said the planned expansion is a tremendous financial investment for AT&T.

“They’ve had a large history here,” King said of the company. “And we’re going to hit them up for a bunch more stuff as time goes on.”

Aledo Mayor Kit Marshall told King that his famous telecom deregulation legislation has, “clearly delivered on its promises.”

“Senate Bill 5 and the leadership of Phil King made this possible in Aledo, and we thank you,” Marshall told her old friend.

Because of certain competitive agreements, Epperson said he couldn’t provide a map or offer specifics pertaining to exactly where the new service will be provided, but he did say thousands of homes could be affected.

In addition to DSL lines, the company plans to offer U-verse in Parker County, an AT&T service Epperson claims is capable of producing very high speeds. Previously, he said U-verse was only available in Texas’ largest metropolitan areas: San Antonio, Houston, Austin, DFW, and surrounding bedroom communities.

“This is the first time we’ve been in an area outside a major area,” he added.

Epperson estimated DSL roll-out in Parker County will probably take place during the first quarter of 2008, with U-verse expected to be up-and-running by the third quarter.

When asked what made Parker County stand out as an attractive new market, Epperson referenced population growth, particularly within new housing developments.

“The Barnett Shale has brought a whole lot of investment and a whole lot of new business to this county,” he added. “It’s close to a major metropolitan area, but it’s far enough way. People come here because they love the lifestyle and people who have come here are used to and want modern technology. Put all that together and it’s a perfect market.”

CBS 11 News

Chris Salcedo

Every American’s vote counts. It’s a basic pillar of our electoral system.

But a CBS 11 investigation discovered that election officials can’t guarantee that only American citizens vote in elections.

After the review of data from Tarrant and Dallas Counties, it appeared, at least on the surface, that some non-citizens were participating in U.S. elections.

Since 1976, 1,900 people have been removed from the voter rolls because of their citizenship status in Dallas County. Of those, 221 had voter histories.

Tarrant County election data from 2004 and 2005 shows 43 people have been removed from the voter rolls, but none had voter histories.

It appeared there was a problem. Officials admit some illegal immigrants could be seeking to participate in U.S. elections.

But, they explained, there are other explanations.

Tarrant County elections official Steve Rayborn said some legal citizens claim they are not citizens to get out of jury duty.

There are other scenarios that explain the data. Non-citizens on student or work visas might fill out registration forms by mistake.

Rayburn said that if there are non-citizens voting, he feels there are very few.

Dallas County elections official Bruce Sherbet said his elections are as clean as they can be. They follow the law when checking voter’s qualifications.

He said he has tools at his disposal to check for felony convictions and someone’s age. He even has tools to determine if a voter has been deemed mentally incompetent by a court of law.

However, there is no way to know if everyone who casts a ballot is a legal citizen. Under the law, there is no government check for citizenship eligibility.

The only way to determine someone’s citizenship is to see which box they checked on their voter registration card.

In the last legislative session, Texas lawmakers tackled the issue.

Representative Phil King of Weatherford authored a bill that would have allowed the Secretary of State to verify citizenship using information in a data base like birth records and social security numbers.

Representative Lon Burnam of Fort Worth helped fight that bill, saying it was a tool for the “radical right” to suppress the votes of minorities and the elderly.

Representative Burnam said he believes any gains achieved by citizen verification would be outweighed by the thousands of U.S. voters who would be disenfranchised. To him, the integrity of new electronic voting machines is a bigger issue.

It is almost certain the issue will be back next session.

You can weigh in on this issue. Click here to find out how you can get in touch with your representative and let them know where you stand.

Dallas Morning News

Elizabeth Souder

Texas Rep. Phil King, R-Weatherford, is considering offering financial incentives for companies to build low-polluting coal-fired power plants in Texas.

The legislator, who leads the House Regulated Industries Committee, said Friday he’s exploring ways to offer tax breaks or to set up a trust fund for “clean coal” technologies.

He said such incentives might help investors get over their reluctance to sink money into untested technology so that the low-polluting power plants that Texas badly needs can be built.

“I’m aggressively looking into it now,” Mr. King said.

“Here’s what I’m finding out: Wall Street’s afraid to invest in clean-coal technology plants. We’ve got to find some way to give them comfort with that risk level. And that will take some type of incentive from the state until we get a few of these built,” he said.

The aid might also help power generators meet new federal carbon dioxide limits that the companies would have to meet anyway.

Clean coal typically means coal plants that don’t emit as much pollution as traditional plants and have some mechanism to cut carbon dioxide emissions. That would include coal gasification plants as well as devices that collect carbon dioxide from traditional plants.

The coal industry may be in jeopardy if it cannot come up with a clean, politically palatable way of using the fuel.

Texas’ two largest power companies, NRG Energy and Energy Future Holdings Corp.’s Luminant, have been tinkering with equipment that cuts carbon dioxide emissions from coal. Both are bracing for federal carbon dioxide regulations.

“We believe federal regulations are coming,” said Thad Hill, head of NRG’s Texas operations. “Government help is required early, but it shouldn’t be required for long.”

NRG executives have said they’re ready to invest in a coal gasification facility. They need help with the cost, especially in Texas’ deregulated market where power companies must build plants on their own dime and recoup the cost by selling electricity into the market.

Most experts say a coal gasification plant costs about 20 percent more than a traditional plant, and the carbon dioxide capture and sequestration equipment costs another 20 percent on top of that.

NRG executives want the government to help narrow that gap. Over time, as more coal gasification plants get built, the cost would likely drop, eliminating the need for subsidies, NRG has said.

Meanwhile, NRG is planning to expand its traditional coal plants in Central Texas.

The new owners of TXU Corp., now called Energy Future Holdings, has pledged to consider building coal gasification plants. But it hasn’t yet called for bids from equipment vendors, as promised.

Before the buyout by private equity companies, TXU came under fire for proposing to build 11 traditional coal plants. The buyers cooled public ire by cutting the proposal to three plants and promising to consider clean-coal technology.

The company is also doing research on methods to eliminate carbon dioxide emissions from existing coal plants.

Mr. King said he’s met with NRG officials about the idea of state aid, as well as some electricity cooperatives. He hopes to also meet with Energy Future. He plans hearings on the topic and to propose legislation in the 2009 session.

Contact Information:
Kirsten Fedewa
Tel: 202-365-6936

Alice Stewart
Tel: 501-324-2008
Mob: 501-658-1654

Little Rock, AR – Former Arkansas Governor and Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee named State Representative Phil King as Co-Chairman of his Texas Leadership Committee, it was announced October 19, 2007.

The leadership announcement coincides with other good news from Texas: a new poll of Texas GOP primary voters released last Friday shows Huckabee coming in third place (tying with Mitt Romney) behind Rudy Giuliani and Fred Thompson. Thompson’s support has eroded in Texas, while Huckabee’s has maintained momentum in Texas and in other key parts of the country.

“I am delighted to welcome principled legislators like Rep. King to our team in Texas,” Huckabee said. “His wealth of experience in the Texas Legislature and distinguished background is an incredible asset to my campaign for President – especially in Texas, where my support is clearly growing.”

King has earned a reputation in Texas providing key leadership in passing some of Texas’ sweeping policy legislation, specifically in his role as Chairman of the House Regulated Industries Committee, which includes the telecommunication, electric power and pipeline industries and science and technology issues.

“I have been looking for the true conservative in the race who reflects the core values of the Republican Party,” King said. “I have concluded that Governor Huckabee was the right candidate for President.”

Since the beginning of his political career in 1998, King has made an impact on issues affecting all Texans and has amassed numerous legislative awards. In 2005, King was named a “Legislator of the Year” by the American Legislative Exchange Council.

King has also been recognized as “Crime Fighter of the Year” by the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas, a “Fighter for Free Enterprise” by the Texas Association of Business, and in 2003, was awarded “Legislator of the Year” by the Texas Association of Builders for his efforts to reduce litigation costs for homebuilders and buyers.

King has been a leading advocate for pro-life legislation such as parental notification and parental consent. King served as a Captain in the Fort Worth Police Department, an instructor at Dallas Baptist University and a Parker County Justice of the Peace.

King and his wife Terry are the proud parents of six children and two grandchildren.

“Mike Huckabee reflects the ideals of the Republican Party such as limited government, fiscal responsibility and individual liberty,” King said. “I am honored to serve as Co-Chairman of the Texas Leadership Committee.”

# # # #

Paid for by Huckabee for President, Inc.

www.mikehuckabee.com

Weatherford Democrat

Staff

Roadside fires wreak havok along Interstates and county roads, ruining farm land and residential dwelllings and causing injuries, while wasting tax dollars to extinguish them.

Children are among the highest statistics of those who die from home fires caused by cigarrettes.

Statistics show a high percentage of fatalities are caused by smokers who leave cigarettes unattended and burning or fall asleep while smoking.

The state recently took a step in making Texans less likely to cause a fire by an improperly discarded cigarette.

Governor Rick Perry signed House Bill 2935 into effect recently to help curb the danger.

The Bill, written by Representative Phil King and his staff, will make “safe cigarettes” mandatory within a little more than two years.

As of Jan. 1, 2010, any cigarette brought into Texas to sell or be sold within its borders must be a “fire-safe” type.

The “non-fire-safe” cigarette will be available to all retailers by Jan. 1, 2009.

After that date, and when current cigarrette inventory has been depleted, the inventory must be replaced by the “fire-safe” type, giving Texas merchants just over a year to prepare for the new stock.

Perry relayed his support for the new law during the signing of the bill, and said it is expected to save lives and property.

King (R-Weatherford) along with Senator Royce West (D-Dallas) co-sponsored the bill, and demonstrated strong bipartisan support which the bill drew.

The bill also drew support across the state, and was sponsored by the Texas Fire Marshal’s Association, the State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Texas State Fireman’s and Fire Marshal’s Association.

The National Fire Protection Association deemed the bill an essential tool to the nation’s fire prevention and safety network.

“The State of Texas is vitally important to the national agenda of getting ‘fire-safe’ cigarette laws in every state in the Union,” said Lorraine Carli, NFPA Vice President of Communications.

According to the tobacco industry, Carli also said Texas is the state to determine the success of the Fire Safe Cigarette Coalition’s effort to make the bill a national priority.

Weatherford Fire Marshal Kurt Harris, also the president of the Texas Fire Marshal’s Association said cigarettes and smoking materials continue to be the leading cause of fires in residences in the United States.

Harris said between 700 and 900 die annually because of fires caused by cigarrettes. A large percentage of those fatalities are children.

Harris stressed the new cigarrette is not completely safe, but is “safer” than the ones currently sold on the market.

“We, in the fire protection arena, are ecstatic about this bill and the life and property it will save,” Harris said.

Harris thanked King and his Legislative Aid, Tim Kuhl, for their “diligent” work in writing the bill and West for helping get the bill passed with almost no opposition.

Fire safe cigarettes are designed to self-extinguish if the smoker ceases to continue to inhale the cigarette. The new version is expected to be less likely to start a fire on clothing, bedding or other combustibles when ashes are dropped or left unattended.

For more information, log onto see www.firesafecigarettes.org.