CONCORD, N.H.
The Senate has approved more than $5 million in fresh funding to fight the state’s substance abuse crisis.
The 24-member body is unanimously backing the bill despite a partisan spat over where the money should come from. The bill authorizes Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan to appropriate the money from unspent funds in various state departments.
The bill gives $4.5 million to the Department of Health and Human Services, which can choose to spend it on affordable sober housing or give to the Governor’s Commission on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention, Treatment and Recovery.
It also provides $500,000 in grant funding for peer recovery support services and about $125,000 for the state attorney general’s office to hire a new drug prosecutor.
With drug deaths climbing in the state and topping 400 last year, fighting heroin and opioid addiction is a top priority for lawmakers this session.
The bill requires the governor’s commission to begin reporting to the Legislature on its work.
The plan now moves to the Republican- controlled House.
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