Committee details opioid‑abatement appropriations and tighter oversight of advisory committee
Summary
Members reviewed Act 16 (H218), a standalone FY26 appropriations bill from the opioid abatement special fund that lists multiple grants and asks the advisory committee to base recommendations on prior outcomes and cite statutory authority for expenditures.
The Senate Health & Welfare committee reviewed Act 16 (H218), described by Speaker 2 as a fiscal‑year 2026 appropriations bill for the opioid abatement special fund. Speaker 2 listed several example appropriations the bill included, saying the bill made “a number of appropriations” and noted examples such as $1,900,000 for outreach and case‑management staff positions within a preferred‑provider network and $1,400,000 for certified recovery residences.
Speaker 2 said the law requires the opioid settlement advisory committee to base annual recommendations for expenditures on previously reported outcomes and measurements and to include a corresponding citation to the authorized use within the statute when making recommendations. The committee noted this is intended to improve tracking and accountability over time.
Speaker 2 and others discussed that the fund had been front‑loaded early in the settlement trajectory, and JFO (Nolan) projected smaller amounts would be available in later years; committee members said they would want to review JFO projections and program outcomes when considering future appropriations.
Next steps: committee members signaled interest in receiving JFO projections and outcome reports from the opioid settlement advisory committee to inform future funding choices.
