Altria Group
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| Altria Group | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Virginia and Kentucky |
| Type: | Corporation |
| Top official: | Martin J. Barrington, President and CEO |
| Year founded: | 1919 |
| Website: | Official website |
| Budget | |
| 2014: | $10.1 billion |
| 2013: | $10.4 billion |
| 2012: | $9.5 billion |
As of 2018, Altria Group was a tobacco and wine corporation and the parent company of Philip Morris USA and U.S. Smokeless Tobacco. The group lobbied the federal government and several state legislatures with regards to tobacco and alcohol policy. Altria Group also maintained a group of PACs, including AltriaPAC and Chateau Ste. Michelle Wine Estates PAC. In 2014, the company "was the top spender among lobbyists in the 2014 Kentucky General Assembly".[1]
Mission
On its website, the Altria Group listed the following mission for its work as of 2015:[2]
| “ | Our Mission is to own and develop financially disciplined businesses that are leaders in responsibly providing adult tobacco and wine consumers with superior branded products.[3] | ” |
History
Altria Group, renamed from Phillip Morris USA in 2003, traces its history back to the incorporation of Phillip Morris & Co. in 1919.[4][5] The company is the largest seller of tobacco in the United States.[6]
The group sold tobacco products made from crops grown in Kentucky, among other states.[7] In addition, Altria-owned U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company operates a 41.2 acre smokeless tobacco facility in Hopkinsville, Ky., where workers processed "aged tobacco, including shredding, drying and flavoring."[8][9]
Political activity
AltriaPAC
As of 2015, Altria Group maintained a network of PACs, the most active of which was AltriaPAC. AltriaPAC gives to candidates and other PACs in support of federal regulation of tobacco products and other issues regarding tobacco sales and trade.[10] According to Influence Explorer, Altria Group had spent over $114 million in politics since 1989, including $35 million opposing California Proposition 86, Cigarette Taxes in 2006 and $32 million opposing California Proposition 29, Tobacco Tax for Cancer Research Act in 2012.[11]
Since 2009, much of AltriaPAC's activity in Kentucky was supporting: Sen. Rand Paul (R) and his leadership PAC, RAND PAC; Sen. Mitch McConnell and his leadership PAC, Bluegrass Committee; Rep. Ed Whitfield (R) and his leadership PAC, Thoroughbred PAC; and Rep. Hal Rogers and his leadership PAC, Help America's Leaders PAC.[12]
Altria Client Services
As of 2016, Altria Client Services was a subsidiary of Altria Group. This organization provided Altria companies with "compliance, corporate affairs, finance, government affairs, human resource, information technology, legal, procurement, regulatory affairs, research, development and engineering services," according to Bloomberg.[13] The subsidiary is also active in ballot measure campaigns.
Overview of ballot measure support and opposition
The following table details Altria Client Services’ ballot measure stances available on Ballotpedia:
| Ballot measure support and opposition for Altria Client Services | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ballot measure | Year | Position | Status |
| Montana I-185, Extend Medicaid Expansion and Increase Tobacco Taxes Initiative | 2018 | Opposed |  Defeated
|
| California Proposition 56, Tobacco Tax Increase | 2016 | Opposed[14] |  Approved
|
| North Dakota Tobacco Tax Increase, Initiated Statutory Measure 4 | 2016 | Opposed[15] | Defeated
|
Leadership
The website for Altria Group lists the following individuals as members of its board of directors as of 2015:[16]
- Gerald L. Baliles
- Martin J. Barrington
- John T. Casteen III
- Dinyar S. Devitre
- Thomas F. Farrell II
- Thomas W. Jones
- Debra J. Kelly-Ennis
- W. Leo Kiely III
- Kathryn B. McQuade
- George Muñoz
- Nabil Y. Sakkab
Finances
The following is a list of Altria Group's gross profits for the fiscal years 2012 to 2014:[17]
- 2014: $10,160,000,000
- 2013: $10,457,000,000
- 2012: $9,563,000,000
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Altria Group. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ The Courier-Journal, "Cigarette maker Altria leads 2014 Kentucky lobbyists," June 13, 2014
- ↑ Altria Group, "Our Mission and Values," accessed August 21, 2015
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ USA Today, "Philip Morris changes name to Altria," January 27, 2003
- ↑ Altria Group, "Our Heritage," accessed August 24, 2015
- ↑ Bloomberg, "Altria to Sell E-Cigarette as Marlboro Demand Slides," April 25, 2013
- ↑ Altria Group, "Sustainable Agriculture," accessed August 24, 2015
- ↑ U.S. Smokeless Tobacco, "Our Offices and Facilities," accessed August 24, 2015
- ↑ Kentucky.gov, "U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company to Open New Facility in Hopkinsville; Expand Existing Operation," February 27, 2014
- ↑ Altria Group, "Legislative Issues," accessed August 24, 2015
- ↑ Influence Explorer, "Altria Group," accessed August 24, 2015
- ↑ Altria Group, "Political contributions," accessed August 24, 2015
- ↑ Bloomberg, "Company Overview of Altria Client Services Inc.," accessed September 14, 2016
- ↑ California Fair Political Practices Commission, "November 2016 General Election," August 16, 2016
- ↑ Inforum, "Debate lighting up over tobacco tax hike," August 20, 2016
- ↑ Altria Group, "Board of Directors," accessed August 21, 2015
- ↑ Altria Group, "SEC Form 10-K (2015)," accessed August 24, 2015
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