Lt. Gov. signs legislation advancing fight against opioid abuse

Life-saving overdose reversal drugs will now be available without a prescription and schools can now have this medication on-hand for use in an emergency, under legislation signed Wednesday by Lt. Gov. Brian Calley.

“Protecting the health and safety of Michiganders by working to reduce opioid addiction and overdose deaths continue to be a priority but addiction is still on the rise so there is still a lot of work to do,” Calley said. “Increasing access to medications that prevent overdose deaths is a common-sense reform that will save lives.”

House Bill 5326, sponsored by state Rep. Anthony Forlini, allows opioid antagonists to be obtained without a prescription to have on hand in case an overdose occurs. Senate Bills 805 and 806, sponsored by state Sens. Jim Ananich and Dale Zorn, respectively, allows overdose reversal drugs to be prescribed to schools to have on-hand in the case of an overdose. The bills are now Public Acts 383-385 of 2016.

This bills continue recommendations of the Michigan Prescription Drug and Opioid Abuse Task Force, chaired by Calley, to make opioid antagonists more readily available. 

Calley signed 11 additional bills:

Senate Bills 564 and 565, sponsored by state Sen. Phil Pavlov, prohibits abortion providers from receiving any financial compensation for the transfer of fetal tissue resulting from elective abortions and outline the maximum penalties for doing so. The bills are now PAs 386 and 387.

SB 647, sponsored by state Sen. Tonya Schuitmaker, requires CPR and automated external defibrillation training to be incorporated into health education for grades 7-12 before the 2017-2018 school year. The bill is now PA 388.

SB 853, sponsored by state Sen. Jim Stamas, prohibits local government from enacting ordinances that regulate, prohibit or impose a fee on the use of plastic bags. The bill is now PA 389.

SB 1172, sponsored by state Sen. Ken Horn, suspends the collection of the Use Tax on Medicaid HMO’s to maintain eligibility for federal Medicaid match reimbursement dollars. The bill is now PA 390.

HB 4136, sponsored by state Rep. Peter Lucido, will require current high school social studies curriculum to include material covered by the civics portion of the federal naturalization test. The bill is now PA 391.

HBs 4353 and 4355, sponsored by state Reps. Harvey Santana and Paul Muxlow, respectively, gives animal shelters the opportunity to check the criminal background of a potential adopter. The bills also establish a regulatory program for large-scale dog breeder kennels. The bills are now PAs 392 and 393.

Article V Section 26 of the Michigan Constitution gives authority to the lieutenant governor to sign legislation when the governor is out of state.

For additional information on this and other legislation, visit www.legislature.mi.gov.

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