Remember all of those wonderful scholarships that once upon a time had funding through 'promises' and 'pledges' and earmarked tobacco cash?  

Oh My.. THOSE were the days.

$300 Million dollars a year dedicated to whatever the state wanted to do.  Completely fungible money, paid for by the health issues that state's attorneys argued cost the taxpayer in the first place.  $300 Million to pay for Johnnie and Suzie's college tuition once, and later, maybe 4100 million for a state police post that was not needed.  Gosh happy days, and dollar signs in the eyes of anyone who thought they could tap into the 'free money' promised by the settlement with big tobacco about 12 years ago.  Money so stable, that even spending it ahead of time was not out of the question.

Umm  Folks?  Put the credit card down for a minute.  We seem to have hit a snag. It seems the agreement by attorney's general of several states, (GUESS WHO OUR AG AT THE TIME WAS? - Haha fooled you .. it wasnt YET the drooling over those funds JG to the right.) and some tobacco concerns represents an illegal compact between states, which is seen as unconstitutional.

The background: The case was brought by the Competitive Enterprise Institute on behalf of a tobacco company, S&M Brands, a tobacco retailer and a cigarette consumer. The group sued the Louisiana Attorney General in 2005, claiming, among other things, that the Louisiana legislation which effected the terms of the 1998 settlement represented an illegal "compact" among states.