CONCORD – House Speaker Shawn Jasper (R-Hudson) and House Majority Leader Richard “Dick” Hinch (R-Merrimack) offered the following statements on the passage of legislation aiding in the state’s response to the opioid and drug epidemic in New Hampshire. Today the House passed:
SB533, which appropriates $3,000,000 in FY 2017 to the Governor’s Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery, for the purpose of funding contracts for program services, and $2,000,000 in FY 2017 to the New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority, for the purpose of funding supportive housing projects for persons with substance abuse disorders. SB533 passed on a voice vote.
SB485, establishing a state grant program to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in addressing the opioid crisis SB533 passed 213 to 95.
SB522, making an appropriation to the office of professional licensure and certification for technology upgrades for the controlled drug prescription health and safety program. SB522 passed on a voice vote.
SB464, establishing a statewide drug offender grant program, establishing drug courts or alternative drug offender programs. SB464 passed on a voice vote.
“Late last year we formed the Joint Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Epidemic in order to review and prioritize proposals for this legislative session, “ said House Speaker Jasper. “The bills approved today, along with the bills the legislature passed earlier this year and the increase in funding we included in the legislature’s budget, help fulfill the commitment we made to act on this crisis.”
“There is no silver bullet when it comes to solving this crisis, but we believe the measures passed in the House today will aid in the state’s fight against addiction in several important areas including treatment, prevention, enforcement, and the judicial process,” said Rep. Hinch. “Our work won’t stop here, but this set of solutions, we believe, will continue to improve the state’s ability to respond.”