A Capitol notebook

CIGARETTE "FEE" STAYS

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to consider a lawsuit by Philip Morris against Minnesota alleging the state's 75-cent per pack health impact fee violates a contract with the cigarette company.

Lower courts had struck down the health impact fee on cigaraettes imposed by the Minnesota legislature.

Under an earlier 1998 settlement, tobacco companies pay hundreds of millions of dollars to Minnesota as reimbursement for the state's health care costs attributable to tobacco. The agreement releases the company from all future claims and liabilities imposed by the state.

In asking the Supreme Court to take the case, Philip Morris said a Minnesota Supreme Court decision against the company violates nearly 130 years of U.S. Supreme Court case law on contracts.

CHILD SAFETY SEAT AGE MAY BE RAISED TO 8

A bill to raise the age at which children must be strapped in booster seats while riding in cars, trucks and vans received preliminary approval in the state Senate.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. Jim Carlson, DFL-Eagan, would raise the age from 4 to 8 and waive a $50 fine for violating the law if the offender gets a booster seat within two weeks of the violation. Currently, the fine can be waived or reduced, though there's no requirement for such action.

Carlson said Monday that the legislation will reduce fatalities and injuries to children in car crashes, though a DFL colleague, Sen. David Tomassoni of Chisholm, questioned whether some children might be too big to fit into the seats.

The seats, which cost $20 to $35, now must be used to strap in youngsters up to 4 years of age, though many parents routinely use them for children 4 and older.

A bill could come up for a final vote in the Senate on Thursday.

TICKET SCALPING MAY BECOME LEGAL

Time could be running out on a sporadically enforced law against ticket scalping in Minnesota.

The state Senate on Monday approved a billl to repeal the scalping ban, which has been on the books since 1963. The measure is also advancing in the House.

Sen. Chris Gerlach, R-Apple Valley, said his bill simply acknowledges "a legitimate secondary market. We don't regulate secondary markets for baseball cards or art or mortgages, but we push ticket resales into a black market."

A lot of his colleagues seem to agree, judging by the 48-15 Senate vote.

Gerlach said all but a dozen states allow ticket reselling. He cited Wisconsin's vibrant ticket brokerage industry, where businesses pay taxes instead of fines.

Minnesota's current law can bring sellers 90 days in jail and up to $1,000 in fines if they unload tickets at a price greater than the face value.

"It's a bill whose time has come," Gerlach said. "Ticket reselling happens between a willing seller and willing buyer, and there's no public policy reason for the state to interfere."

(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)