Contact: Rep. John Nygren (888) 534-0089
Madison – On Thursday, Representative Nygren (R-Marinette) released the following statement on special session bills’ public hearings:
“Today, the Assembly Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee and the Assembly Education Committee held public hearings on 5 of 11 special session bills aimed at fighting opioid abuse and addiction in our state. Thank you to the chairmen of these committees, Representative John Spiros and Representative Jeremy Thiesfeldt, for holding these important hearings.”
The proposals heard in the Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety are SSAB 1 which allows school personnel to administer opioid antagonists to pupils and others on school grounds, SSAB2 which allocates additional funding for treatment and diversion programs, and SSAB10 which creates four new positions at the Department of Justice to fight drug trafficking.
The proposals heard in the Assembly Education Committee are SSAB 6 which creates a recovery high school, and SSAB 11 which allocates additional funding for mental health programs in schools.
“These bills will go a long way to continue our fight against the opioid epidemic. The proposals are not the silver bullet — there is much more to be done. That said, I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues in the legislature, the Attorney General, law enforcement, the medical community, and recovery advocates statewide on initiatives that will further combat drug abuse and addiction in Wisconsin.”
The remaining six special session bills have been referred to the Assembly Health Committee and the Assembly Judiciary Committee. Public hearings on these bills have been scheduled for Wednesday, March 8th.
