Multnomah County Commission Chairwoman Deborah Kafoury and the Oregon Nurses Association filed a proposed ballot measure on Tuesday that would increase cigarette taxes.

The proposal, Initiative Petition 21, also called the Oregon Healthy Families Act, would add an additional $2 tax to each pack of cigarettes. The measure also would delete a 50-cent cap on cigar taxes.

Jenn Baker, who heads government relations for the Nurses Association and is a chief sponsor of the initiative, said she and Kafoury filed the initiative because increasing the price of tobacco is the best way to keep children from buying it. Kafoury was not available to comment.

To get their proposed tax on the 2018 ballot, supporters of the initiative must collect more than 88,000 valid signatures.

Kafoury and Baker filed the measure as lawmakers in Salem are considering their own tobacco tax increases to help patch a $1.6 billion budget hole.

Bills are still alive in the Legislature's revenue committees that would increase cigarette taxes by 50 cents to $2 per pack. Those proposals are in line with Gov. Kate Brown's proposed budget, which includes tobacco tax increases.

Baker said the Nurses Association has long advocated in Salem for increasing tobacco taxes. But they "want to keep all options on the table" in case lawmakers fail to raise taxes this year, she said. Lawmakers may struggle to pass new tobacco taxes this year, she said, because although Democrats control the state House and Senate, they don't have the supermajorities needed for tax increases without Republican support.

Oregon currently taxes each pack of cigarettes $1.32. By contrast, Washington has a $3.03 per-pack tax.

-- Gordon R. Friedman

503-221-8209; @GordonRFriedman

Update, 3:25 p.m.: This story was updated with comment from Jenn Baker.