Tobacco-settlement hearing set for Thursday

Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner will hold the last in a series of public hearings to discuss the use of tobacco-settlement funds on Thursday in Philadelphia.

In a report two months ago, Wagner said that a 2001 law required that all tobacco money - nearly $10 billion over 25 years - go to various health-related programs, particularly adultBasic insurance coverage for low-income working people.

Thirty percent of all tobacco money has been diverted over the years by annual budget agreements, he said. This year, with other adultBasic funding insufficient and scheduled to end, Gov. Corbett canceled the insurance program and proposed transferring all tobacco-settlement money to the general fund.

Thursday's hearing will be 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the University of Pennsylvania's Fels Institute, 3814 Walnut St. - Don Sapatkin