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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | May 20, 2016 03:19 PM |
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| From: | Senator Jay Costa |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | Opioid Addiction Prevention and Treatment Assessment |
| In the near future I will be introducing legislation that is part of a package of bills that Senate Democrats are introducing to address the opioid epidemic in Pennsylvania. Opioid overuse, addiction, and overdose has become a national and state epidemic. In order to address the situation Pennsylvania needs to expand education, prevention, and treatment efforts. Because this epidemic is driven by opioid abuse, both prescription and illegal, we are proposing that an assessment be imposed on the first sale of opioids within the state by manufactures or importers. The law will prohibit the assessment from being passed onto the retail level. In addition to the treatment and education programs proposed in separate legislation, the revenue from the assessment will be used to support the purchase of naloxone by local law enforcement and emergency management personnel and to support existing county addiction prevention and treatment programs. It is estimated that the tax will generate $60 million in annual revenue. The assessment will be spent as follows:
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Introduced as SB1213