Committee refines H.218 language on advisory leadership, weighs allocations from opioid abatement fund

The committee opened discussion of H.218, the bill that would direct distributions from the opioid abatement special fund, focusing on technical language changes and how allocated dollars would be spent in fiscal year 2026.

Members agreed to several drafting updates, including replacing the term "MAT" (medication assisted treatment) with the phrase "medication for opioid use disorder" (MOUD) throughout the draft, and to add language that the advisory committee shall annually elect a vice chair "from among non‑government members" so the committee has an elected member available to speak on its behalf. Katie McLennan, legislative counsel, walked through the substitutions and numbering changes and confirmed the bill shows an effective date of July 1, 2025.

The committee also spent substantial time on funding allocations the draft would appropriate from the opioid abatement special fund. The largest single continuing appropriation discussed was $1.976 million to fund 26 outreach or case‑management staff statewide. Committee members noted many of this year's grant awards are already…