House budget pumps $170M into solving Ohio’s opiate epidemic

COLUMBUS (AP) — A plan unveiled today by majority House Republicans includes funding for a smartphone app, a 24-hour hotline and other inventive ways to tackle Ohio’s opioid crisis.

Speaker Clifford Rosenberger, Finance Chairman Ryan Smith and others said their version of Ohio’s two-year operating budget adds more than $170 million to address the scourge driven by prescription painkillers and heroin.

Smith said lawmakers prioritized the problem despite an $800 million revenue shortfall. He says their budget protects K-12 school funding as much as possible. It rejects the governor’s proposed tax increases and cuts $1.5 billion overall.

The $170 million will support development of an app to direct Ohioans to the nearest community resource for help. It will also fund community coalitions, transitional housing, local rehabilitation centers and help obtaining short-term job certifications.