Appropriations committee reviews H.218 to spend Opioid Abatement Special Fund; advisory panel had recommended 20 projects

The House Appropriations Committee on Friday, March 14, 2025 heard H.218, a bill that would appropriate funds from the Opioid Abatement Special Fund for fiscal year 2026, including $1,976,000 for 26 outreach or case‑management positions, $1,400,000 for recovery residences, and a slate of one‑time grants to community providers, shelter programs and syringe‑services programs. Katie McGlynn, Office of Legislative Council, summarized the bill and the statutory edits it makes to Title 18 related to opioid use disorder.

The bill matters because it channels money from multi‑year legal settlements into treatment, harm‑reduction and support services and includes new reporting requirements to tie grants to measurable outcomes. The bill also contains a carryforward provision that would allow the Department of Health to carry $1,100,000 appropriated in FY2025 for a Burlington overdose prevention center into FY2026 upon receipt of a proposal.

The Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee, established by Act 118 of 2022 and cited repeatedly during the hearing, vetted funding requests and recommended 20 initiatives to the General Assembly after reviewing 54 applications. Representative Eric McGuire, who spoke at the hearing, described the committee’s role and urged the Legislature to “respect and honor their recommendations and the process that they used.” Members of the Appropriations Committee voiced concerns about a mix of one‑time grants and ongoing needs, unspent obligations from prior appropriations, and how the state will measure program effectiveness going forward.

Key provisions presented to the committee included: - Subdivision 1: $1,976,000 to the Department of Health to fund 26 outreach or case‑management staff positions within the preferred provider network (with intent language that these positions be funded annually from the special fund unless insufficient funds exist). - Subdivision 2: $70,600 to the Department of Health for distribution to Vermonters for Criminal Justice Reform to fund an outreach worker position. - Subdivision 3: $1,400,000 to the Department of Health…