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Senate hears H.660 overview: proposed allocations from opioid settlement fund, reversions and oversight changes
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Summary
Representative Eric McGuire and staff briefed the Senate Health & Welfare Committee on H.660, the FY2027 appropriations bill distributing opioid abatement settlement funds to prevention, treatment, recovery, syringe services, and other initiatives; staff walked members through allocations, reversions, and a request for sustainability plans on ongoing funding.
Representative Eric McGuire, who served on the opioid settlement advisory committee, presented H.660 to the Senate Health & Welfare Committee on April 1, summarizing planned FY2027 appropriations from the opioid abatement settlement fund and related changes to oversight and sustainability requirements.
McGuire said H.660 aims to ensure settlement dollars support a balanced statewide response—investing in prevention, treatment, recovery, harm reduction, recovery housing, syringe service programs, and peer recovery coaching. He said the advisory committee reviewed 67 applications and funded 15 initiatives for the year, detailing a process that prioritized equitable coverage across regions and evidence‑based approaches.
Staff and members reviewed specific line items in the bill: $1,600,000 for certified recovery residences; $850,000 for syringe services; $1,100,000 to the Department of Corrections for peer recovery coaches in facilities and probation/parole, and other line items supporting youth prevention, EMS buprenorphine training ($248,000), and community‑based services. The bill also includes language requiring sustainability plans for ongoing funding proposals so applicants account for future expenses beyond the special fund.
Committee staff walked members through a living spreadsheet that compared health department, OSAC, and House recommendations, showed new funding proposals, and highlighted reversions (unspent prior appropriations returning to the fund). After reversions the bill’s net proposed spending was presented at roughly $5.16 million with an estimated fund balance of about $6.7 million remaining until the next settlement receipts.
Members asked for further accounting from joint fiscal and the Attorney General’s office on settlement receipts and fund uses, and discussed how items had been moved between the opioid settlement special fund and the substance misuse prevention special fund during the House process. Controversial items flagged for further discussion included the Overdose Prevention Center (OPC) and which initiatives should receive ongoing funding versus time‑limited support. Staff said they will provide historical spending sheets and additional data for the committee’s next meeting.
