"This may have be an issue that upstate Republicans have historically taken a lead on but with un-taxed Native American tobacco sales now creating a stir on Long Island and with Democrats in charge of the Senate, Craig Johnson, is jumping into it as well.

The Nassau County Democrat who chairs the Committee on Investigations and Government Operations, is planning a hearing Oct. 27 at Manhattan Community College. ( Untaxed cigarettes are also of concern to New York City health officials, I’m told, as a good deal of the product sold on Long Island, such as on the Poospatuck reservation, ends up in the city).

The Senate Standing Committee on Investigations & Government Operations will be holding a hearing on the state’s inability to collect taxes from cigarettes sold to Non-Native Americans that originate from Indian Reservations Oct. 27 at Manhattan Community College, the committee’s chairman, Senator Craig M. Johnson announced.

The hearing will begin 10:30 a.m. at the college’s Richard Harris Terrace Building, 199 Chambers St., New York, NY.

“The failure to secure this badly needed revenue continues as other states – most recently Florida – have been able to reach tax collection agreements with their local Native American nations,” Senator Johnson, (D-Nassau), said. “This committee wants to be helpful in crafting a solution to this problem, but first we – and the public – need to be apprised of where the state and the nations stand.”"

Get the Story:
Capitol Confidential: Johnson goes after Native American tobacco sales (The Albany Times-Union 10/1)

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