• Gov. Wolf wants bills to curb opioids and improve treatment,

Legislature considering three bills

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Gov. Tom Wolf is hoping to see movement by year’s end on three bills related to the opioid crisis, said Sarah Galbally, the secretary of policy and planning.

The governor would like to see final passage of a bill limiting the number of days’ worth of opioids prescribed and requiring that prescribers tell patients about the risk of addiction. Sponsored by by Sen. Gene Yaw, R-Lycoming, the bill passed the Senate unanimously a month ago, and sits in a House committee.

Mr. Wolf, a Democrat, also would like to sign a bill by Sen. Tom McGarrigle, RDelaware County, that would regulate “recovery houses” that get public funds to help people recovering from addictions.

Finally, the governor is hoping that legislators submit a rewrite of a bill by Sen. Jay Costa, D-Forest Hills, which would allow family members to petition to force loved ones with addictions into rehabilitation programs.

That bill has been in the Senate Judiciary Committee since February, while the administration and legislators negotiate with advocates concerned about civil liberties issues.

Legislators have “heard from families who have loved ones who are suffering from addiction. They feel kind of trapped when that loved one is not willing or interested in seeking treatment,” Ms. Galbally said.

But involuntary commitment shouldn’t occur without a careful process, she added. New language has been drafted, but the bill — Sarah Galbally, Gov. Tom Wolf's secretary of policy and planning hasn’t yet been amended.

“We’ve been meeting with all four caucuses on these priorities,” she said. “We’re all working on the same team here to address the epidemic.”

She said the administration also is looking at streamlining the distribution of the anti-overdose drug naloxone. For instance, medics regularly administer that drug but aren’t allowed to leave any behind in case the person overdoses again.

“That’s an issue that we think should be addressed,” she said.

The governor hasn’t ruled out a disaster declaration that would free up resources and put new powers at the state’s disposal, Ms. Galbally said, adding that such a step can be taken in both “weather and manmade emergencies,” of which the opioid epidemic is the latter.

The overdose rate continues to rise, and that remains one of Gov. Wolf’s top priorities, she said.

He signed five bills last year aimed at curbing the overprescribing of opioids that led to the heroin and fentanyl epidemic, Ms. Galbally noted.