JACKSON, MS -- For the second time this year, Gov. Haley Barbour (R) vetoed legislation sought by the state legislature to boost the cigarette excise tax.

The legislation would have increased the state’s current 18-cent-per-pack cigarette excise tax to 80 cents per pack and reduce the 7 percent grocery tax to 3.5 percent, reports the Associated Press.

In his veto message, the governor said that the legislation was the latest attempt by the state House and Senate “to change the state revenue stream in the middle of tremendous financial uncertainty in the wake of Hurricane Katrina,” writes the news source.

“Reliable, accurate information needs to be developed through proper research before such a tax shift is enacted, but this research has not been done,” added Barbour.

The AP notes that state legislators will likely “have trouble mustering enough votes” to obtain the two-thirds majority in both chambers to override the governor’s veto.