House GOP leaders call for special session to address opioid crisis

(Harrisburg) — Republican legislative leaders want Governor Tom Wolf to call a special session to deal with the opioid crisis, and Wolf says he supports their request.

House Speaker Mike Turzai says the effort to address the opioid crisis needs to be coordinated.

He says a special session of the House and Senate would draw attention to the issue, and help lawmakers focus on it alone.

Nearly 25-hundred people died from drug overdoses in Pennsylvania in 2014, but that number is actually a low estimate because of incomplete reporting.

Turzai points to a 1995 special session called by Governor Tom Ridge to address crime as a guiding point.

“But this isn’t about criminalization here. This is about prevention, treatment, recovery,” he says.

Specifics on when a special session would be held, or how long it would run, weren’t available.

Wolf, who joined the gathering, says he supports the special session move.

He explains: “What it does is, it focuses the attention of the General Assembly on something that’s really important to Pennsylvania and the public and it actually gives us the focus that we need to get something done, so I think it’s a great idea, and I do support it.”

Senate leaders say they’re in favor of such a move as well.

Meanwhile, the governor’s proposed budget includes $34 million to fund opioid treatment centers.

Turzai says it’s under serious consideration, but didn’t commit to funding the so-called centers of excellence fully.