Legislation Quick Search
03/28/2024 10:12 PM
Pennsylvania State Senate
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20170&cosponId=22730
Share:
Home / Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda

Subscribe to PaLegis Notifications
NEW!

Subscribe to receive notifications of new Co-Sponsorship Memos circulated

By Member | By Date | Keyword Search


Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2017 - 2018 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: February 3, 2017 01:24 PM
From: Senator Jay Costa
To: All Senate members
Subject: Opioid Addiction Prevention and Treatment Assessment
 
In the near future I will be re-introducing SB 1213 from last session which will help fund programs intended to address the opioid epidemic in Pennsylvania. Last session Senators Fontana, Brewster, Tartaglione, Farnese, Schwank, Blake, Dinniman, Yudichak, Hughes, Wiley, Kitchen, and Wozniak co-sponsored the legislation

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:
  • $35 million of an Emergency Opioid Addition Treatment Program
  • $5 million for a School Aged Opioid Awareness Education Program
  • $5 million for a Drug and Alcohol Addiction Counselor Loan Forgiveness Program
  • $3 million to assist emergency response and law enforcement personnel in purchasing Naloxone
  • $10 million for county criminal justice and corrections addiction assistance
  • $2 million for Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs
Please join me in co-sponsoring this important piece of legislation.



Introduced as SB534