The House Human Services Committee on Oct. 30 voted to report House Bill 1974 as amended, advancing legislation that would create a contingency management support grant program in the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs to help individuals with stimulant use disorders access and remain in treatment.

The amendment the committee adopted requires the department’s guidance to include standards for contingency management program design and implementation that "comply with all applicable federal and state laws, including those relating to fraud and abuse," language read into the record by staff member Ashley.

Sponsor Representative Venkat said contingency management is an evidence-based method for treating stimulant use disorders and noted the lack of FDA-approved medication-assisted therapies for those conditions. "I think we all recognize the public health challenge that is stimulant use disorders, especially related to cocaine and methamphetamine," Venkat said, and urged members to support the bill.

Sponsor Representative Flick credited Venkat for the bill’s development and described his own experience in the drug-and-alcohol field. Flick said the program would support modest, treatment-contingent incentives — for example, transport to appointments — tied to demonstrated engagement and progress in treatment. "This bill is only if they're improving in treatment and staying in treatment," Flick said.

Chair Heffley said he had consulted with his county single county authority and local reentry programs and described contingency management as effective. "This type of treatment is very effective, and we want to do what we can to support it," Heffley said.

The committee adopted the amendment without recorded opposition and then voted to report the bill as amended to the full House. A roll-call sequence in the transcript records an affirmative vote from multiple members on the record; the clerk announced that "a majority voting in the affirmative" had carried the measure. The transcript includes explicit on-the-record "yes" responses from Chairman Williams; Rep. Brett Bellman; Rep. Brett Benham; Rep. Serrato; Rep. Dural; Rep. Green; Rep. Khan; Rep. Harris; Rep. Kincaid; Rep. Mays; Rep. Prokopiak; Rep. Rivera; Rep. Venkat; Chairman Heffley; Rep. Anderson; Rep. Baseline; Rep. Flick; Rep. Flood; Rep. Hogan; and Rep. Labs. The clerk then declared the bill "reported as amended."

The legislation, as summarized in committee, would amend the Administrative Code to establish the contingency management support grant program within the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs. The committee discussion named county-level models in the commonwealth (the transcript names "Vallegany County" and Susquehanna County) as existing examples; the transcript spelling of the first county name is used where quoted and may not reflect official county spelling.

The record does not specify program funding levels, an implementation timeline, or detailed eligibility criteria; those elements would be determined in subsequent administrative guidance and any budgetary action. The amendment requires that the Department’s guidance include standards compatible with applicable federal and state laws, including fraud-and-abuse rules, but the transcript does not identify specific statutes, regulation citations, or funding sources.

With the committee’s vote, the bill will move to the full House for further consideration. The clerk closed the meeting after the vote and the chair adjourned the committee session.