BOSTON – Professionals on the front lines of fighting the opioid epidemic offered advice to lawmakers Monday about how to tackle drug abuse and addiction as frustration began to show among some legislators with the lack of action.
Rep. Randy Hunt, an East Sandwich Republican and member of the Mental Health and Substance Abuse Committee, told his fellow committee members he'd like to see a "huge effort" to pull together legislation that could be sent to Gov. Charlie Baker's desk before the Legislature recesses for the year in just over two weeks.
BOSTON — Asking for more time to report on changes at the Department of Children and Families, Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday signed a spending bill that steers $120 million into the state rainy day fund and dedicates $27.8 million to opioid abuse treatment and prevention programs.
The bill calls on Baker's team to report to the Legislature by Nov. 17 on new or updated policies put in place at the Department of Children and Families over the past year to improve the safety of children it deals with. Saying that deadline doesn't give DCF enough time to complete its report, Baker returned that portion of the legislation to lawmakers with an amendment extending the deadline to file the report until the last day of February.
