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Advocates press Senate committee to restore $45M of opioid-settlement funds to community programs
Summary
Hundreds of advocates and people with lived experience urged the Senate Health Committee to return $45 million taken from the opioid settlement fund and to protect community-based harm-reduction programs. The committee released S3017 after extended testimony calling for transparency and restored accountability.
Trenton ' Dozens of survivors, harm-reduction workers and community providers told the Senate Health Committee on Feb. 16 that $45 million diverted from the Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund should be restored to community programs rather than redirected to hospitals.
Jenna Miller, executive director of the New Jersey Harm Reduction Coalition and a member of the Opioid Settlement Advisory Council, said the settlement funds were intended to repair harms and invest in community-driven solutions. "These dollars were secured to support evidence-based, community-driven solutions," she told the committee, and said the advisory council recommended giving most funds to community harm-reduction, housing and medication-for-addiction-treatment programs.
Speakers with lived experience described immediate consequences in their counties after the funds were moved. Elizabeth Burke Beatty, a community-based recovery-support director, recounted a three-day period in Ocean County with 11 overdoses and four fatalities and said: "We are watching people die and hearts being broken." Several speakers said diversion to hospitals undermines the settlement's intent and erodes public trust.
Supporters of returning the funds urged transparency and oversight if any monies are allocated to large health systems. Ken Musgrove, director of a peer recovery center, told the committee: "If hospitals receive these general fund dollars for opioid-related initiatives, there should be reasonable transparency so the public understands how the funds are used and the impact they achieve."
Committee members and witnesses discussed the history and intent of settlement dollars and stressed the need for measurable outcomes and accountability. The committee recorded a motion to release S3017 for further action.
Next steps: S3017 was released from committee; advocates requested statutory protections and reporting requirements to ensure settlement dollars are prioritized to community-based harm-reduction and recovery services.
