With the House vote, though, the issue remains alive for a while, regardless of what Robertson decides.

Republican Gov. Haley Barbour vetoed two cigarette and grocery tax bills in 2006, and lawmakers were unable to muster the two-thirds majority to override either veto.

This is an election year, and health advocates who want a higher cigarette tax say they hope that will change the dynamics at the Capitol and push one of the bills through with veto-proof margins.

Marty Wiseman, a political scientist who directs the Stennis Institute, said the institute’s goal was to give lawmakers information that could help them set public policy on taxation.

“We did not write the study to take a side or to refute anybody’s position,” Wiseman said.

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The bills are Senate Bill 3098 and House Bill 247.