With sponsor Ed Hooper, R-Clearwater, describing the H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center as a “unique asset,” the Senate on Thursday unanimously approved a bill that would provide millions of additional dollars each year to the Tampa center.
The bill (SB 866) would change a formula for distributing cigarette tax revenues. The Tampa cancer center has received about $15.5 million a year through the current formula, but the proposed changes would lead to it receiving $26.9 million starting next fiscal year and $38.4 million starting in the 2024-2025 fiscal year, according to a Senate staff analysis.
The proposal would reduce the amount of cigarette tax dollars going into the state’s general revenue. Hooper said the money would help Moffitt build a “badly needed” new campus.
The House version of the bill (HB 789), filed by Rep. Amber Mariano, R-Hudson, has not been heard in committees.
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