Idaho
Idaho tobacco settlement secures millions in funds, rather than spending years to litigate payments • Idaho Capital Sun
Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador reached a new settlement with tobacco companies to immediately get a big chunk of disputed funds, but it will leave millions on the table.
That’s instead of duking it out in litigation that can last over a decade.
Idaho’s settlement — reached in March — resolved years of complicated litigation, and it’s similar to ones 38 other states and territories reached, the Idaho Office of the Attorney General says.
Those are long-running cases over disputed payments by cigarette manufacturers, stemming from a quirk in a massive 1998 settlement. That earlier deal, called the Master Settlement Agreement, requires a handful of the largest cigarette manufacturers to pay states billions of dollars annually.
Instead of risking arbitration panels potentially denying Idaho full access to around $58 million in disputed payments by major cigarette manufacturers, Idaho’s new deal settles for $37 million — and an even higher share of future disputed funds.
“This settlement avoids decades of expensive litigation and eliminates risk that could threaten millions of dollars of Idaho’s annual … payment” from the original 1998 settlement, Labrador said in an April news release. “I’m committed to ensuring that the tobacco companies meet their obligations to Idaho under the (Master Settlement Agreement) without delay or uncertainty.”
As a result, Idaho is expecting a more “even payment stream year to year” from the settlement, Deputy Attorney General John Olson told a panel of lawmakers last week in a presentation before the Joint Millennium Fund Committee. The committee recommends how Idaho should spend its tobacco settlement funds.
Idaho lawmakers are gearing up to dole out more of the tobacco settlement funds toward youth drug prevention efforts, Boise State Public Radio reported. Over the years, Idaho lawmakers have directed the funds toward a range of issues, including toward public health districts, substance abuse treatment, the Idaho Meth Project and more, according to reports by the Idaho State Treasurer.
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New settlement resolves decades of litigation over disputed tobacco company payments
In 1998, Idaho and states across the U.S. reached the landmark Master Settlement Agreement meant to reduce smoking.
The settlement set up decades of payments by tobacco companies to states. But some of those payments went into disputed accounts that states would have to arbitrate to access.
That stems from the “non-participating manufacturer adjustment,” one of several adjustments in the 1998 master settlement agreement, Olson told lawmakers last week.
Each year, tobacco companies claim that the adjustment applies to reduce their payments to states, Olson explained, pooling about $3 million to $5 million of Idaho’s tobacco settlement payments into the disputed fund annually.
Idaho has spent years litigating to access those funds. Just this year, Idaho was litigating to access disputed funds from 2005, Olson said.
Whether Idaho would win in arbitration depended on if it could convince an arbitration panel of judges that Idaho “diligently” enforced the terms of its law passed in accordance with the 1998 settlement.
James Simeri, the chief of the attorney general’s office’s Consumer Protection Division, which handles the litigation, told the Idaho Capital Sun in an interview that the settlement eliminated the risk of losing disputed funds. And it means Idaho will receive payments now, rather than waiting a decade or longer for litigation over individual years’ payments to resolve, he said.
“The attorney general’s looking out for the people of Idaho,” Simeri said. “And getting most of the money, but not all the money, but eliminating the risk of losing the money — seems desirable on the whole, in the circumstances, given the risks.”
And the office had to pay attorneys and staff for the litigation, he added.
Why Idaho reached the new tobacco settlement
This year, Idaho is getting around $74 million in tobacco settlement funds. That includes the up-front payments for past disputed funds that the new settlement secured, along with Idaho’s $23.3 million payment originating from the 1998 settlement this year, Olson told lawmakers.
When Idaho reached the new settlement, around $58 million was in its disputed payments account from funds withheld through 2020, Simeri told the Sun in an email.
The new settlement also sets Idaho up to receive 75% of future disputed payments from 2015 through 2031, according to a February letter by Labrador, outlining the new settlement.
In the past, Idaho has won in arbitration. But the Attorney General’s Office says future success isn’t guaranteed, referencing a recent loss for the state of Washington.
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If Idaho lost its arbitration for those disputed funds, it could lose access to those funds — and maybe even lose more, through a reallocation provision in the settlement, Simeri told the Sun.
“It’s less than you could have gotten with a total victory. But if you compare it to a total defeat, it’s a lot more,” Simeri told the Sun in an interview.
Whether settling over the disputed funds is beneficial “is in the eyes of the beholder,” Brett DeLange, former chief of the Idaho Office of the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division, told the Sun in an interview.
He thinks some states are essentially saying: “‘a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.’ … That having a lesser amount now is better than waiting so long to get the full amount.”
And he praised Olson and David Young — two Idaho deputy attorneys general on the tobacco settlement litigation — as “outstanding lawyers.”
BOISE, Idaho (Idaho Capital Sun) — Day use access fees at all Idaho state parks will be waived for Idaho residents on July 4 as part of a celebration of America’s 250th anniversary, Gov. Brad Little announced Friday, as reported by the Idaho Capital Sun.
“As we prepare to mark 250 years of American independence, there is no better way to celebrate than by getting outside with our loved ones and enjoying the freedoms and natural treasures that define our great nation,” Little said Friday. “Idaho’s state parks showcase the very best of our state, and we are proud to welcome families, friends and visitors to explore them free of charge during this special occasion.”
While day use fees for Idaho residents will be waived, normal camping and reservation fees will apply, officials said.
Idaho has 28 state parks, which offer a variety of recreational and outdoor activities including hiking, horseback riding, skiing, bird watching, rock climbing, fishing, boating, swimming, bicycling and more.
State officials with the Idaho Department of Parks and Recreation are in the process of unveiling improvements and enhancements at several state parks, including Lucky Peak State Park outside of Boise, which recently opened a new dog beach and accessible kayak launch on the Boise River.
Other state parks include Bruneau Dunes State Park and Observatory, Harriman State Park, Bear Lake State Park and City of Rocks National Reserve, which is a national reserve and state park that attracts climbers from all over the world to its dramatic granite rock spires.
Little said the July 4 fee waiver is a part of a larger effort to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence being signed in 1776.
Copyright 2026 KMVT. All rights reserved.
We’re lucky to live in a place as safe as the Treasure Valley. Despite our growth, one of the things that makes our area so special is the way that we look out for one another–for our neighbors! That’s a principle that seems to have held on as Boise has boomed.
Despite low crime rates, there seems to always be one incident or so that makes us scratch our heads.
A recent string of fraud incidents in the Treasure Valley area is one of those.
Nampa Police initially warned the public of this because cases of fraud began to ‘mushroom’. Then, it took an interesting turn–people that HAD their credit cards were being ‘taken to the bank’, so to speak.
In a statement originally released on April 30th by the Nampa Police Department, officials advised the following:
We are not sure how the suspects are gaining access to the victim’s credit cards. There is a growing fraud scheme, “ghost tapping”, that scammers are using to access victims’ credit cards. This is possibly occurring in these instances. “Ghost tapping” uses stolen credit card details in Apple Pay or Google Pay, then remotely relays the tap signal over the internet to a ‘mule’ at a store, allowing them to make high-value purchases that appear completely legitimate. (We’ll share more information on ghost tapping in a later public service announcement that will also suggest ways to protect yourself.) The app used by these criminals obscures the actual credit card number, making it harder for investigators to link a victim to a particular crime. Keep in mind that victims still have their physical credit cards while suspects use the stolen card information to make purchases, which also affects how victims are alerted. So far, local investigators have not been able to identify a common theme among the victims (e.g., a specific bank, a website they visited, a gas pump they used, etc.) in the fraud cases we are investigating.
The investigation spans far and wide.
Authorities say that some suspects are in custody, others are being contacted, and others are still at large.
Now, a week later, the police are back to reaching out to the public–this time, urging people to check their bank accounts.
Nampa Police say that they have caught onto a pattern– there are fraudulent charges at Albertson’s to purchase gift cards, at Costco to purchase Apple products, and at Best Buy, also for Apple products.
Check those bank statements!
Inside The Arrest of 3 Venezuelan Fraudsters
What on earth was happening in Eagle this week?
Gallery Credit: Credit: Mateo, 103.5 KISS FM
It’s Not Hard To See Why This Idaho Police Photoshoot Is Going Viral
The Jerome Police Department is going viral thanks to Twin Falls photographer, Layton Henderson. Once you see the hilarious photos, you’ll see why!
Gallery Credit: Chris Cardenas
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