Concord, NH -The Senate passed a bill today, SB 533 that would provide a $5 million boost to the $80 million that the state is already spending to tackle the heroin and opioid crisis in New Hampshire.
Senate Majority Leader Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro), who recently chaired the Joint Legislative Task Force of the Heroin Crisis proposed this legislation, which also calls on the Governor to prioritize spending on the drug crisis, and Senate Finance Chair Jeanie Forrester (R-Meredith) issued statements following the vote.
“In the state’s operating budget, which passed following the Governor’s veto in September, we increased substance abuse funding by 75% over the previous budget. But given the prolonged heroin and opioid crisis affecting our communities statewide, this additional funding is necessary to enhance treatment and recovery resources available to our friends and neighbors suffering from addiction,” said Senator Jeb Bradley (R-Wolfeboro). “There are several areas in the budget where we can identify savings and we urge the Governor to prioritize her spending and put this savings to work to fight the drug crisis and I look forward to working with her in this effort.”
“The legislation we passed today would augment the resources and legislative changes we’ve already provided. This bill adds reporting requirements for the Governor’s Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention, Treatment and Recovery, while including an additional $5 million in unspent funds in the budget to address prevention, treatment and recovery needs. This bill also supports a new position in the Attorney General’s office for the sole purpose of enforcing substance abuse laws in New Hampshire,” said Senator Jeanie Forrester (R-Meredith).
“Additional reporting requirements put in place with this bill will help determine which programs are most successful in slowing this crisis so we can focus any new resources where they will be most effective for those suffering from addiction.”
“The New Hampshire legislature has been resolute in its commitment to providing effective, long-term solutions to end the heroin and opioid crisis in New Hampshire, and we were able to expedite three bills which passed into law that appropriate $5 million in new money for the express purpose of combating the crisis. Since we all agree that combating this crisis is a shared priority, and we know there are unspent funds available because of the Governor’s failure to staff emergency recovery services, she should support putting these dollars to back to work to curb this crisis,” added Forrester.
Attached:
Protected Substance Use Related Spending 2016/17
$5 million in new funding comes from bills signed into law: SB 464, SB 485, and SB 522
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