The bill provides for the establishment of an opioid resolution fund and provides for settlement funds to be used for the prevention and recovery of substance use disorders. Bills approved by the Senate Finance Committee this week include S.6683, sponsored by Senator Gustavo Rivera, D-Bronx. It was passed unanimously by the committee, including by Senator George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, and is being promoted to the Senate for consideration.
“We want to make sure that this money is actually used to cover the damage caused by these companies,” said Rivera. “This bill would actually go into effect if it actually operationalized that this money would not go into the general fund to be used for God knows what by our great governor, and actually used to target the damage caused by them repair company. I’m glad we’re moving that. “For the families of people who have lost loved ones to the opioid crisis, this is blood money,” said Harckham. “And all they want is to see this help prevent other families from suffering the same loss they suffered. They were especially shocked and saddened when we received $ 32 million from the McKinsey Settlement and $ 32 million went to OASAS – $ 11 million went into drug treatment of incarcerated people, as we did in the Senate had requested. $ 21 million was used to replace government funding. That is exactly what we want to prevent in the future. Any future opioid settlement money must be in addition to, and not replace, current dollars in opioid treatment, prevention, recovery, and harm reduction. That is why this locker is so important and critical that we pass it this year. “
Harckham, chairman of the Senate Committee on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse, attempted to include a version of S.6883 in the state budget. While the Senate included the proposal in its one-house budget proposal, it was removed from the approved state budget. The legislation also creates an advisory board to oversee how the money is spent. While all Republicans on the Finance Committee approved the establishment of the Opioid Settlement Fund, Senator Tom O’Mara, R-Elmira, asked for an amendment before putting legislation on the entire Senate voting agenda to give Republicans seats on the advisory board.
The McKinsey settlement was part of a $ 573 million settlement to resolve claims in the United States. Rivera and Senator Pete Harckham, D-Peekskill, had reason to act quickly to get S.6683 to the Senate before the end of the session. The bill was proposed during the 2019-20 session but did not get the word of the Senate or the Assembly. In April, the New York Bureau of Addiction Services and Support announced to treatment providers across the state that $ 21 million of the $ 32 million resulting from a deal with McKinsey, a consulting firm that worked with Purdue Pharma on Oxycontin, Funds received were passed on to the state general, while $ 11 million would be paid for drug treatment of incarcerated men and women in state correctional facilities.
“I agree on the importance of this and that the settlement funds be used for the purpose this bill provides,” said O’Mara. “However, I am very concerned that there are no minority conference dates on this advisory board that have been set up on this advisory board. Certainly our rural and slightly more suburban areas have not been excluded from the effects of opioids, and these areas are largely represented by Republicans in state law in both Houses, which are minority conferences. We should have representations or appointments to fully represent more rural and slightly more suburban areas. “
Source www.observertoday.com
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