Michael O. Leavitt Center for Politics & Public Service

Project Prologue

The Tobacco Trust Fund

The main concern with the Tobacco Trust Fund was how to control the funds from the settlement: how each state was going to handle taking the monies, dealing with spending them, and so forth. Governor Leavitt thought it should have been the responsibility of the governors of the states, but as it turned out, the Attorneys General of the states involved were the driving force behind deciding how the money was spent. As a result, all of the rules about who can and can’t spend the money from the settlement, and under what circumstances, were for the most part forged by the Attorneys General of the country. Part of the reason that this was of some concern was because the Utah Attorney General at the time, Jan Graham, brought in an attorney from Mississippi who was at the forefront of the settlement, and came to Utah to instruct on how the use of funds from the settlement should be approached. At times there were tense meetings, and it was clear that Governor Leavitt wanted to have more control over the situation, but ultimately, the rules were set how the attorney from Mississippi organized them. Some of the rules were that (more…)

References

Michael O. Leavitt Center for Politics and Public Service