House Speaker Charles McCall says House Republicans want to reconsider a cigarette tax in special session to help close a roughly $215 million hole in the current year's budget.
McCall announced the proposal on Wednesday after Gov. Mary Fallin says she plans to call lawmakers back to the Capitol later this month for a special session to fix the budget.
McCall says passage of a cigarette tax would generate about $122 million through the rest of the year. He says the rest of the budget hole could be made up through a combination of cash and money from the Rainy Day Fund.
The Legislature's attempt to pass a $1.50-per-pack cigarette tax earlier this year was thrown out by the Oklahoma Supreme Court because it didn't receive a three-fourth's vote.