The Legislative session ended, and the Governor signed the budget into law. Thank you to everyone who participated in advocacy efforts and civic engagement in using our collective voices of recovery to champion our work and inspire hope. Our community really showed up at a whole new level to advocate and spread the message of hope – through action and policy!
PRCC worked on several priority bills that were approved by the Legislature. This is something to celebrate and build upon moving forward.
Unfortunately, the one we put most effort into, LD: 1714, An Act to Create a Sustainable Funding Source for Recovery Community Centers, was not funded by the Appropriations Committee this Legislative session. The good news is that the bill was carried over to the next Legislative session and could receive funding in next year’s budget. This means that we will not have to start all over and go through the committee, House, and Senate. We will be able to pick up our work where we left off and try to get this over the finish line.
Among the bills that we were watching and advocating for that passed into law and funded were two that will especially make a big difference:
LD 1719: An Act to Establish Substance Use Disorder Treatment Centers: A new treatment center for substance use disorder, located in either Washington or Kennebec County, was approved and funded with $3.6 million from the budget.
LD 597: An Act to Improve Conditions for People Living in Recovery Residences by Requiring Approved Discharge and Transfer Policies:
This legislation, passed into law, will better protect both residents and the recovery residences with connecting people with the appropriate level of care when there is an issue that is disrupting the person’s recovery and the house they are living in.