CONCORD – House Majority Leader Dick Hinch (R-Merrimack) issued the following statement after reviewing information suggesting that money appropriated to the Governor’s Commission on Alcohol, Drug Abuse has yet to be spent. Rep. Hinch served as Vice Chairman of the Joint Legislative Task Force on the Heroin and Opioid Epidemic, which reviewed legislation in late 2015 pertaining to the drug crisis, including increased funding for the Commission.
“Less than one year ago, I served on the Joint Legislative Task Force on the Heroin and Opioid Epidemic. We heard heart wrenching stories about addiction and the dire need for increased access to recovery services. Despite the urgency with which the legislature acted, we now learn that over half of a $3 million appropriation to the Commission is still sitting on the sidelines. The Commission is made up of great people, and I know that we’re all working towards the same goal. But the public demands accountability from their government, and they’ll want to know why money the legislature expedited to this cause has not been put to use given the continued severity of the crisis our state is facing. This is yet another delay for resources and services our communities desperately needs. Governor Hassan needs to get a handle on where drug crisis dollars are going or not going.”