BATON ROUGE, La. (NBC33) — Governor Bobby Jindal Issues Veto of HB 591 which sends that bill back to house. Jindal informed the clerk of the House of Representatives, Alfred Speer of the veto by letter seen below:

BATON ROUGE – Governor Bobby Jindal vetoed HB 591 yesterday morning and issued the following veto letter to the Legislature today:

The Honorable Alfred W. Speer

Clerk of the House

State Capitol

Baton Rouge, LA 70802

Re: House Bill No. 591 by Representative Ritchie

Dear Mr. Speer:

House Bill 591 repeals the June 30, 2012 sunset on the 4/20 of one cent tax on cigarettes and makes the tax permanent. I have made a commitment to the taxpayers of Louisiana to oppose all attempts to raise taxes.

For this reason, I have vetoed House Bill No. 591 and hereby return it to the House of Representatives.

Sincerely,

Bobby Jindal

Governor

The governor believes the renewal is like a tax increase. Supporters of the renewal say it discourages smoking and helps with health care costs. The tax brings brings in more than $12 million every year to Louisiana.A protest had been planned at the Governor' mansion for Tuesday morning by the American Cancer Society.