The Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust is a public trust created by the State of Oklahoma to manage any money from settlements or lawsuits against any tobacco company.
Full Answer
What is the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust?
The Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust is a public trust created by the State of Oklahoma to manage any money from settlements or lawsuits against any tobacco company.
What is the National Tobacco Growers' Settlement Trust Fund?
The next year, the major cigarette manufacturers settled with the tobacco-growing states to compensate tobacco growers for losses they were expected to suffer due to the higher cigarette prices resulting from the earlier settlements. Called the "Phase II" settlement, this agreement created the National Tobacco Growers' Settlement Trust Fund.
What is the tobacco Master Settlement Agreement?
The Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement ( MSA) was entered on November 23, 1998, originally between the four largest United States tobacco companies ( Philip Morris Inc., R. J. Reynolds, Brown & Williamson and Lorillard – the "original participating manufacturers", referred to as the "Majors") and the attorneys general of 46 states.
What is the Oklahoma endowment trust fund?
Its creation can be attributed to a decision by Oklahoma voters in November 2000 to constitutionally set aside and protect the majority of settlement funds as an endowment trust fund.
How is TSET funded?
Funds are invested by a Board of Investors, and only the earnings from those investments are used by a Board of Directors to support efforts to improve the health of Oklahomans.
What is TSET stand for?
Established by voters, the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) is a state grantmaking trust devoted to preventing cancer and cardiovascular disease, Oklahoma's leading causes of death.
What is the Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust?
The Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust is a public trust created by the State of Oklahoma to manage any money from settlements or lawsuits against any tobacco company.
What is a TSET grant?
TSET is a state grant-making trust. TSET's grants focus on preventing tobacco use, reducing tobacco use and preventing obesity.
How long does the Treasurer serve on the Board of Investors?
The State Treasurer serves on the Board as long as he or she maintains the office. Appointed members serve four-year terms. As of January 2020, the Board of Investors is composed of the following: Randy McDaniel – State Treasurer and Chair.
What percentage of Oklahoma's tobacco settlement is deposited into the state endowment?
When the state receives funds from tobacco, 75 percent is deposited to the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust and becomes part of the endowment corpus. The rest is deposited into a special fund from which the legislature makes appropriations as required by Article X, Section 40 of the Oklahoma Constitution. [9]
What percentage of tobacco settlements are deposited?
This paper briefly describes the constitutionally-established fund into which 75 percent of the state’s tobacco settlement payments are deposited. Investment proceeds are partly used to fund tobacco use cessation efforts. The paper explores the sources of funding, its uses, and whether it can be put to alternative uses.
What percentage of TSET money is deposited in Oklahoma?
The MSA gives states complete flexibility in how they spend the money. As a result of its constitutional provision, Oklahoma must deposit 75 percent of the money in the TSET. Oklahoma statutes, Title 62, sections 2301 through 2310, implement the TSET provisions of the constitution, only elaborating on board terms and providing some guidance for determining investment earnings. Otherwise, statute limits administrative expenses by the Board of Directors to 15 percent of TSET earnings, a high proportion that does not appear to have ever been reached. [13]
What is TSET in Oklahoma?
The Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) is a fund established by amendment to Oklahoma’s constitution, passed in 2000. The amendment determines the distribution of money received by the state from tobacco companies under the national Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). [1]
Why are endowment funds so corrupt?
[17] However, endowment funds like pension funds and land funds have been administered by corrupt individuals at various times in history and are susceptible to embezzlement because of their sheer size. They are also susceptible to political cronyism and inefficiencies because, by their nature, they operate remotely from public decision-making processes. Legal means to plunder these funds, such as overly-generous pension guarantees, have been employed.
Can corpus be spent on tobacco settlements?
The corpus can only be spent if a majority of Oklahomans vote to change the constitutional provision for tobacco settlement money. [14] Arguably, such windfalls should not be spent on ongoing expenses, but should be spent to benefit posterity, as with long-term investments.
Does tobacco cost health?
No one has proved tobacco users represent a net cost to U.S. health programs. Tobacco users’ early deaths offset treatment expenses since old-age care expenses are avoided, though the exact tradeoff is unknown. [3] Despite this and knowledge of tobacco’s ill effects pre-dating the Medicaid program, the nation’s four largest tobacco companies agreed to the settlement. [4] Some have argued that the MSA effectively granted the tobacco companies a cartel, by making it difficult for smaller tobacco companies to enter the market since they are also subject to the settlement’s costs. Thus, reduced competition would guarantee continued profits. [5]
What is Oklahoma's free tobacco helpline?
The Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline is a FREE tobacco cessation service that offers quit coaching, text and email support and free patches, gum or lozenges . The Helpline is available 24/7 to all Oklahomans 13 and older and provides resources for quitting cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and e-cigarettes. OTH is funded by TSET and partners with OHCA, which offers additional benefits to SoonerCare members.
Who is OTH funded by?
OTH is funded by TSET and partners with OHCA, which offers additional benefits to SoonerCare members. The Helpline is funded by TSET, whose mission is focused on reducing Oklahoma’s leading causes of preventable death – tobacco use and obesity – in order to reduce cancer and cardiovascular disease.
What is tobacco stop with me?
Tobacco Stops With Me partners with organizations, both statewide and in local communities, to prevent youth tobacco use and encourage tobacco control policies. If you’re interested in becoming a partner in support of a tobacco-free Oklahoma, click here.
What is TSET grant?
TSET awards grants to communities and schools throughout Oklahoma. Looking to work with grantees to improve your community’s health? TSET makes this process easy by connecting you with TSET Healthy Living Program grantees in your area. Contact your community’s TSET Healthy Living Program grantee and learn more about getting involved.
What is the tobacco master settlement agreement?
The Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement ( MSA) was entered in November 1998, originally between the four largest United States tobacco companies ( Philip Morris Inc., R. J. Reynolds, Brown & Williamson and Lorillard – the "original participating manufacturers", referred to as the "Majors") and the attorneys general of 46 states. The states settled their Medicaid lawsuits against the tobacco industry for recovery of their tobacco-related health-care costs. In exchange, the companies agreed to curtail or cease certain tobacco marketing practices, as well as to pay, in perpetuity, various annual payments to the states to compensate them for some of the medical costs of caring for persons with smoking-related illnesses. The money also funds a new anti-smoking advocacy group, called the Truth Initiative, that is responsible for such campaigns as Truth and maintains a public archive of documents resulting from the cases.
Who was the first to sue the tobacco industry?
The first was declared in May 1994 by Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore . The general theory of these lawsuits was that the cigarettes produced by the tobacco industry contributed to health problems among the population, which in turn resulted in significant costs to the states' public health systems.
How long does it take for a SPM to join the Master Settlement Agreement?
As an incentive to join the Master Settlement Agreement, the agreement provides that, if an SPM joined within ninety days following the Master Settlement Agreement's "Execution Date," that SPM is exempt ("exempt SPM") from making annual payments to the settling states unless the SPM increases its share of the national cigarette market beyond its 1998 market share, or beyond 125% of that SPM's 1997 market share. If the exempt SPM's market share in a given year increases beyond those relevant historic limits, the MSA requires that the exempt SPM make annual payments to the settling states, similar to those made by the OPMs, but based only upon the SPM's sales representing the exempt SPM's market share increase.
What was the 1997 National Settlement Proposal?
This proposed congressional remedy (1997 National Settlement Proposal (NSP), a.k.a. the "June 20, 1997 Proposal") for the cigarette tobacco problem resembled the eventual Multistate Settlement Agreement (MSA), but with important differences. For example, although the congressional proposal would have earmarked one-third of all funds to combat teenage smoking, no such restrictions appear in the MSA. In addition, the congressional proposal would have mandated Food and Drug Administration oversight and imposed federal advertising restrictions. It also would have granted immunity from state prosecutions; eliminated punitive damages in individual tort suits; and prohibited the use of class actions, or other joinder or aggregation devices without the defendant's consent, assuring that only individual actions could be brought. The congressional proposal called for payments to the states of $368.5 billion over 25 years. By contrast, assuming that the Majors would maintain their market share, the MSA provides baseline payments of about $200 billion over 25 years. This baseline payment is subject to
How many plaintiffs have ever prevailed in the tobacco case?
Only two plaintiffs ever prevailed, and both of those decisions were reversed on appeal. As scientific evidence mounted in the 1980s, tobacco companies claimed contributory negligence as they asserted adverse health effects were previously unknown or lacked substantial credibility.
How many lawsuits were filed against tobacco companies?
By the mid-1950s, individuals in the United States began to sue the companies responsible for manufacturing and marketing cigarettes for damages related to the effects of smoking. In the forty years through 1994, over 800 private claims were brought against tobacco companies in state courts across the country. The individuals asserted claims for negligent manufacture, negligent advertising, fraud, and violation of various state consumer protection statutes. The tobacco companies were successful against these lawsuits. Only two plaintiffs ever prevailed, and both of those decisions were reversed on appeal. As scientific evidence mounted in the 1980s, tobacco companies claimed contributory negligence as they asserted adverse health effects were previously unknown or lacked substantial credibility.
When was the Master Settlement Agreement signed?
Adoption of the "Master Settlement Agreement". In November 1998 , the Attorneys General of the remaining 46 states, as well as of the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands, entered into the Master Settlement Agreement with the four largest manufacturers of cigarettes in the United States.
