Legislature continues work on substance use bills
The General Assembly’s 2025 session is well past its midpoint, and several bills related to substance use, behavioral health, and opioids have either been defeated or passed at least one of the houses. The Consortium is tracking these bills, and we attempt to keep our stakeholders updated on their progress and key provisions on our website. You can find more on the Consortium’s page about the legislature and this blog post about the bills. The information is current as of Monday, March 31.
The legislature’s website is the source for definitive information, including an up-to-date schedule and the latest amendments. The legislature is scheduled to adjourn on Wednesday, May 7.
Leg to decide future of opioid study committee
One bill we have been watching is SB25-199, which would suspend the Opioid and Other Substance Use Disorders Study Committee, as well other committees that meet outside the legislative session to study policies and develop legislation. The opioid study committee has not met since the summer of 2023, and in the past the Consortium has worked closely with its members as they considered policy options. Since its launch in 2017, the Consortium provided lawmakers with input–and helped our partners provide input–on 14 bills that created more than 100 policies.
As of March 31, both chambers had passed the bill with no votes against the bill in either house. However, the House amended the Senate’s version of the bill, and on March 28 the Senate voted to request a conference committee to reconcile the different versions. A date for the conference committee meeting is to be determined, and if both houses agree on a final version it will go to the governor for his signature.
Bills increasing fentanyl criminal penalties and regulating state naloxone purchases fail
Two proposed bills that generated controversy went down to early defeats. SB25-044 would have increased the criminal penalties for making, selling, or possessing fentanyl, and lost in the Senate Judiciary Committee. The Senate Health & Human Service Committee voted down SB25-066, which would have changed who the state could buy opioid-reversing medication from.
For more information, visit the Consortium’s website. You also can visit our blog to read details about the bills in one post.