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 for recovery residences certified by VITAR. - Subdivision 4: $805,000 to the Department of Health for syringe services. - Subdivision 5: $800,000 for contingency‑management grants, with up to $35,000 to the Department of Corrections to pilot contingency management in Chittenden County and the remainder to Health for provider grants. - Subdivision 6: $32,157 to the Department of Health for distribution to the Brattleboro Fire Department for community training on opioid antagonist administration, CPR, first aid and Stop the Bleed. - Subdivision 7: $442,229 to Champlain Housing Trust for wound care and preventive health at three low‑barrier shelters in Chittenden County. - Subdivision 8: $800,000 to the Department for Children and Families’ Office of Economic Opportunity to support long‑term shelter programs, harm‑reduction supports and clinical nursing programs. - Subdivision 9: $309,000 to the Department of Health to support Project Connection Works in Windham County. - Subdivision 10: $50,000 to the Judicial Branch for statewide judge training on opioid use disorder issues and docket strategies. - Subdivision 11: $200,000 to establish Healthy Youth Program counselors at the Basement Teen Center at Kellogg Hubbard Library (Washington County). - Subdivision 12: $100,000 to Friends for Changes Youth Center (Bellows Falls) for intervention and harm‑reduction supports to youth. - Subdivision 13: $170,000 to Spectrum Youth and Family Services for two physicians to provide screening, treatment and case management for opioid use disorder. - Subdivision 14: $80,000 to Prevent Child Abuse Vermont for parenting skills and social/emotional supports. - Subdivision 15: $850,000 to DALE (for distribution to hireAbility Vermont) to provide specialized employment services for people with opioid use disorder. - Subdivision 16: $550,000 to Northeast Kingdom Community Action to hire four peer support specialists for people transitioning from homelessness to permanent housing. - Subdivision 17: $150,000 to Connecticut Valley Addiction Services, Inc., to expand opioid‑use treatment. - Subdivision 18: $300,000 to Vermonters for Criminal Justice Reform and Johnson Health Center to continue the Managed Medical Response Partnership. - Subdivision 19: $30,000 to Washington County Mental Health (Treatment Associates) to hire an embedded recovery coach. - Subdivision 20: $20,824 (transcript: 20,824) to Umbrella to provide integrated services between domestic/sexual‑violence providers and recovery partners.

The bill also directs the Department of Health to carry forward the $1,100,000 appropriated in FY2025 for a Burlington overdose prevention center pending submission of a proposal. Subsection C would require outcome measurements and data collection and reporting for all grants and agreements issued under the section, and the draft statutory language replaces older terminology ("medication‑assisted treatment") with "medication for opioid use disorder" where applicable.

Nolan from the Joint Fiscal Office presented a chart tracking earlier appropriations and expenditures from the settlement fund: roughly $26 million in revenue has been received to date, about $14 million appropriated in earlier acts, leaving approximately $12 million; the Human Services Committee’s recommended FY2026 allocations in H.218 account for about $8.78 million of that, leaving roughly $3.25 million unallocated, and a portion of previously appropriated dollars remains obligated but unspent. “Every line item has a story,” Nolan said, explaining delays tied to contracting, federal approvals and staff capacity at the Department of Health.

Rich Donahue, chief financial officer at the Agency of Human Services, cautioned that settlement revenue is not indefinite and that appropriation choices should account for that uncertainty.

Committee members pressed multiple policy questions: whether recovery centers applied to the advisory committee (answers indicated some recovery‑center funding exists in the base budget and some federal grants are supporting peer‑coaching programs this year), how many applications were received (54), whether recommended grants are one‑time awards (most of the 20 recommended initiatives are one‑time allocations; four categories—outreach/case management positions, a Burlington overdose prevention center, recovery residences, and syringe services—were described as remaining funded annually through the life of the fund), and how the advisory committee will use outcome data when making future recommendations.

The Appropriations Committee did not vote on H.218 at this hearing. Committee members asked staff for additional budget context and follow‑up about unspent obligations and implementation timelines. The chair said the committee will hold the bill for now as the panel continues work on the broader state budget process.

“We put a piece in the end of the bill in which we are gonna be enhancing our reporting and data strategies in regards to recipients of this money,” Katie McGlynn told the committee; she also described the statutory crosswalk the advisory committee must provide linking recommendations to statutory criteria. Representative Eric McGuire stressed the importance of honoring the advisory committee’s vetting process: “I believe it’s vitally, vitally important that we respect and honor their recommendations.” Nolan summarized the fiscal picture and told members he would follow up on unspent obligations; Rich Donahue noted the settlement is time‑limited and should be factored into sustainability planning.

Members said they want the advisory committee’s outcome data to shape future funding and emphasized a preference that any additional allocations be drawn first from proposals that went through the advisory process. The hearing record shows robust interest in ensuring accountability, clarifying which items are base funding versus one‑time grants, and resolving delays in obligating previously appropriated funds.

What’s next: staff will provide the committee further fiscal detail on projected settlement receipts, the status of prior obligations and the carryforward request for the Burlington overdose prevention center. The bill will be held for additional review and will return to the committee as part of ongoing budget deliberations.