The Latest: Signatures submitted for California tobacco tax

A campaign backed by a billionaire, medical groups and organized labor says it has collected more than a million signatures to qualify a ballot measure to raise California's cigarette tax by $2 a pack.

Nearly 600,000 signatures of registered voters must be verified for the proposed state constitutional amendment to make the Nov. 8 ballot.

Officials from a well-financed campaign whose backers include billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer, medical groups and organized labor say it has collected enough signatures for a ballot measure to raise California's cigarette tax by $2 per pack.