Rep. John Tobia speaks at a rally in Tallahassee Tuesday in support of his House Bill 1207, placing a fee on Dosal Tobacco that other tobacco companies are assessed | Photo: Gray Rohrer

About 200 workers gathered Tuesday in Tallahassee for a rally and march to the Capitol in support of a bill they say would close a tax loophole on Dosal Tobacco.

As part of an $11.3 billion settlement in 1997 between the state and large tobacco companies, fees are tacked onto cigarettes from most tobacco producers and passed on to the consumer. Dosal Tobacco, a Miami-based company, was not part of the settlement and, without having to charge the tax, can sell their 305s brand cheaper than other companies.

House Bill 1207, sponsored by Rep. John Tobia, R-Melbourne, would place the new fee -- about 2.6 cents per pack -- on Dosal products.

Workers for Dosal formed a similar rally in 2009 when the issue of a fee was raised, claiming their jobs were at stake. Tobia and the workers gathered Tuesday made the same claim.

“So remember when we hear that other little companies employ a lot of people, well they pale in comparison to the work that you do,” Tobia told the crowd gathered at DoubleTree Hotel a few blocks away from the Capitol.

The 200 workers, wearing T-shirts with “Support House Bill 1207” emblazoned on them, are part of a group dubbed Citizens for Fairness in Florida, which represents Big Tobacco in the Sunshine State. But large tobacco companies aren’t the only business interests in favor of the tax.

Associated Industries of Florida, a business advocacy group normally opposed to any new taxes, supports the fee on Dosal in order to keep them playing by the same rules as other tobacco producers.

“Businesses in the tobacco industry must be held to the same standard,” said Jose Gonzalez, a lobbyist for AIF.

Citizens for Fairness President Jim Smith noted that while Dosal was a small-time producer when the settlement was made, their market share has grown to 20 percent of sales in Florida, and their profits have grown 750 percent in the last decade. Florida Retail Federation Vice President Randy Miller also said Dosal has grown to be more than just a nuisance to Big Tobacco.

“At the time of the settlement, the nonparticipating members (the small tobacco companies) were left out because they were small; they were an irritant,” Miller said.

Dosal heaped skepticism on Big Tobacco’s claims of jobs being at stake as well as the group itself. Citizens for Fairness is copying their style, but seeking the opposite effect, they said.

“Citizens for Fairness is just another front for Big Tobacco," said Sarah Bascom, a spokesperson for Dosal. "This is the same call for a legislative market share grab, only packaged in new T-shirts. It’s ironic that they walked the same path to the Capitol that Dosal’s employees did a few years ago. The only difference is that those employees marched to save their jobs and today’s march was a profit march.”

Tobia’s bill has yet to get a committee hearing in the House. It has no companion bill in the Senate, but is supported by Sen. Thad Altman, R-Viera, who attended the rally.

Reach Gray Rohrer at grohrer@sunshinestatenews.com or at (850) 727-0859.