The nonprofit anti-tobacco program Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi, under attack by Gov. Haley Barbour, could survive by morphing into a state agency, the Associated Press reported June 28.

Barbour, a former tobacco industry lobbyist, has tried to kill the program through the courts and legislature, arguing that the Partnership -- funded through the 1998 nationwide tobacco settlement -- lacks government oversight and accountability. Recently, a state judge agreed with Barbour's contention that the $20 million earmarked for the Partnership under the settlement could be redirected by legislators.

This week, Mississippi House Public Health Committee Chairman Steve Holland proposed converting the Partnership from a private, nonprofit organization into a state group called the Commission for a Healthy Mississippi. Holland said the Commission would be audited by the state but still could receive private grants and donations.

Other lawmakers, however, said that $20 million would be better spend by routing it through Medicaid, where it would generate federal matching funds. But such a structure could prevent the program from delivering youth smoking prevention services in schools and churches, and some lawmakers said that Barbour would have too large a role in the Partnership's future since he appoints the Medicaid director.