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Committee approves $20 million opioid-settlement appropriation for coordinated county reentry programs and database

Arizona Legislature - Committee (floor/committee hearing) · March 26, 2026

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Summary

A strike-everything amendment to SB 13-17 would appropriate $20 million in FY2027 from opioid remediation funds to expand county reentry programs to eight counties, provide $2 million per county, fund a $1 million statewide database and offer startup grants; the committee gave the amended bill a do-pass recommendation.

A legislative committee recommended SB 13-17 as amended, a strike-everything bill that would appropriate $20 million in fiscal year 2027 from opioid remediation settlement funds to support coordinated county reentry planning services and to create a statewide database for tracking outcomes.

Jen Morrison, speaking for the Arizona Sheriffs Association, said the amendment matches last year’s budget language and would distribute $2 million to each of eight counties that currently have or are ready to launch programs — including Maricopa, Pima, Yavapai and La Paz — and set aside $1 million for a statewide database. The amendment also includes a $3 million pool for counties that do not yet have programs but could stand one up in FY2027.

David Reynolds, describing Yavapai County’s program, told the committee the county’s recidivism rate for participants fell from about 50% at baseline to roughly 18% after local reentry programming and that the average daily jail population fell from about 600 to 375. "This has been a very good investment on behalf of the state," Reynolds said.

Sheriff David Klaus of Navajo County, president of the Arizona Sheriffs Association, said counties see the jail-to-treatment pipeline as an opportunity to reduce incarceration and return people to the workforce.

Committee members asked for program data and whether the auditor general had evaluated the programs; Morrison said counties are required to track outcomes and that the database funding would support statewide measurement. Members also raised questions about the timing and availability of opioid settlement money; witnesses said the funds arrive in waves and appropriations are negotiated in the budget process.

The committee adopted the strike-everything amendment and voted to give SB 13-17 as amended a do-pass recommendation (9 ayes, 1 absent). The bill will move forward for additional legislative consideration and budget negotiation.