Tobacco growers eligible to receive 2004 Phase II payments should be able to find some money in their mailboxes this week.
"We have worked as quickly as we could to get tobacco families the money they need to continue their way of life," Rep. Lonnie Napier, R-Lancaster, said Friday. "I am proud to say that during the week of June 20, your check will finally be in the mail.
Kentucky expected to receive $124 million in Phase II settlement money from the tobacco companies last year that would be paid directly to growers, but the money was denied by a North Carolina judge's decision in favor of the companies.
That decision caused the Kentucky General Assembly earlier this year to divert $114 million of the state's Phase I money, earmarked to help diversify agriculture and improving health care, to make payments to the farmers who were counting on the money. The Burley Tobacco Growers Cooperative also kicked in $10 million.
