BOISE, ID - Idaho lawmakers are expected to consider a bill in the new session that would boost the state cigarette tax by $1.25 per pack, the Associated Press reports.

State Rep. Dennis Lake, who heads Idaho's House Revenue and Taxation Committee, said that he agreed to sponsor the measure because of the savings it would bring to health care costs.

The move is projected to meet stiff opposition by an Idaho legislature that has turned sharply conservative, resistance that Lake is prepared to challenge.

"We know that all legislators have just come from spending some face-to-face time with their constituents and you heard legislative leadership say no new taxes," Lake said. "Does that mean this is a tax? I refer to it as a user fee ... so, we'll cross that bridge."