Addressing Londonderry Rotary, Governor Hassan Calls for Comprehensive, Expedited Substance Abuse Legislation

Statement

At this morning's Rotary Club of Londonderry meeting, Governor Maggie Hassan called on the legislature to take up comprehensive substance abuse legislation as quickly as possible in order to strengthen the state's efforts to combat the heroin and substance abuse crisis.

"People are dying nearly every day, and we must act quickly to give patients, providers, parents and law enforcement better tools to combat this epidemic," Governor Hassan said. "Comprehensive substance abuse legislation should be the legislature's number one priority, and I believe the legislature should reconvene for a special session to address this crisis. Barring that, the legislature should have an expedited bill on my desk for signature by the end of January. In addition, I continue to encourage the legislature to reauthorize our bipartisan health care expansion plan as quickly as possible, and before April when insurers must file to be in New Hampshire's marketplace."

Governor Hassan said one of the most important steps the legislature can take is reauthorizing the bipartisan New Hampshire Health Protection Program, which has already provided treatment services for substance abuse and behavioral health to thousands of Granite Staters, so that providers have the certainty that they need to safely invest in expanding treatment capacity.

"There is no excuse for inaction as we continue our ongoing efforts to combat the heroin and substance abuse crisis, and I remain committed to working with the legislature to develop and finalize this important legislation," Governor Hassan said. "We will have to continue to fight together -- each and every one of us, every single day -- to build on our efforts to combat this crisis."

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