After delay, GOPs on Finance finally OK opiod funds. Will they hold up JUUL settlement?

After a wait of 3 weeks, the Republican-run Joint Finance Committee met last week and approved adjustments to the Evers Administration’s plans for $31 million in opiod settlement funds.

Some proposals from the Evers administration stayed in the plan, such as $3 million to distribute more Narcan around the state, $2 million for fentanyl testing strips, $6 million to be shared among the state’s Indian tribes, and $2.5 million to help Medicaid recipients pay for stays in treatment centers. But some other provisions were changed or eliminated.

Revisions approved by the panel include:

*approving $10 million to expand prevention, treatment and recovery facilities, $1 million less than what the Evers administration had proposed.

*approving $250,000 for K-12 substance abuse prevention curriculum, rather than the $2 million the Evers administration had proposed.

*eliminating the Evers administration proposal to put $1 million into community-level prevention programs and the $2 million for family support centers.

Along with putting $3 million into law enforcement grants, the GOP motion added $1 million to the Evers proposal for using medication such as methadone to help those with withdrawal symptoms. That pushed the funding to $2 million.

So Republicans are fine with using settlement funds for opiod-related grants to pay for services. But won’t give money to local governments to make it easier to hire cops or provide other law enforcement services, or even allow most communities to raise their own money via sales tax.

RESPECT OUR AUTHORITY!

Side note – the state is only getting these funds because Attorney General Josh Kaul joined the multi-state lawsuit against the opiod manufacturers in March 2019. That came after GOP predecessor Brad Schimel refused to join that suit, and likely for the corrupt reason you think.

And it appears that the Joint Finance Committee is going to be presented with information on another multi-million dollar settlement, based on this news from last week.

Wisconsin will receive part of at $438.5 million settlement between the U.S. and JUUL labs, following a two-year investigation into the vape manufacturer.

JUUL, a popular e-cigarette brand, has been under scrutiny for both its advertising and its cartridge flavors, such as fruit and candy, which draw in the child and teen market. Wisconsin, one of 34 states and territories to receive a portion of the settlement, will receive $14.4 million….

States will begin receiving their portion of the settlement in the coming weeks, with funds to be paid over a period of six to 10 years. The amounts will increase if JUUL stretches out the payments until the full 10 years. The total owed could reach $476.6 million.

This is another lawsuit that AG Kaul joined in on, which makes me suspicious that the Republicans will pull another delaying tactic in the coming months when the plan to spend that $14.4 million comes out. Especially if the plan is released before the November 2022 elections.

The delay for the opiod funds was eye-rolling, as was the excuse that the GOP co-chairs on JFC gave for not going along with the original plan (the GOPs complained they weren’t asked for input, despite DHS holding 12 public hearings on what to do with the opiod funds and the related epidemic).

But the funds are finally getting out there, and while it’s a small benefit compared to the great costs that the drug pushers have put upon people and the state, it’s at least something that can help people in the future. Which makes it all the more pathetic when GOPs in the gerrymandered Legislature hold up that money to have input settlement that they never wanted to make in the first place.