Deputy Attorney General warns SB 441 language could upend opioid abatement contracts; committee sends bill to interim study

Deputy Attorney General Jim Buffetty told the House Committee on Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs that parts of SB 441 would create confusion about how opioid settlement funds are administered and could be read to allow municipalities to override state contracts.

"There are no organizations that operate under the opioid abatement trust fund," Buffetty said, adding he serves as chair of the Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission. He told members the commission makes recommendations to the governor and executive council, contracts are screened and approved by the Department of Health and Human Services and the executive council, and that the bill’s language implying municipal authority to disallow state-contracted organizations "would certainly cause confusion." He also noted that DHHS has already adopted rules to implement the statute (citing RSA 126-A:84).

Several representatives said the language affects large portions of the bill. Representative Kesselring moved that the committee refer SB 441 to interim study; Representative Weber seconded. Supporters of the motion said the measure needs substantial rewriting to avoid unintended legal consequences; opponents did not prevail.

The committee approved the interim-study motion on a roll call vote of 17–1. The chair said the item will be placed on the committee’s consent calendar for follow-up drafting and that members will work on revisions and reports as needed.

The interim study means members and staff will revisit the statute’s wording and the relationship between local jurisdictions and state-administered opioid abatement contracts before the bill is returned to the floor.