Wisconsin Legislature passes bills targeting opioids

(AP) — Wisconsin lawmakers passed a package of bills Tuesday designed to combat opioid abuse, which has reached epidemic proportions and causes more overdose deaths than there are traffic deaths in the state.

The nine proposals approved nearly unanimously by the Senate were expected to be quickly signed by Gov. Scott Walker, who called lawmakers into a special session to take up the bills and draw attention to opioid abuse.

The bills passed in the Senate would expand treatment options, increase training for doctors and school staff, create a charter high school for recovering addicts, spend more money on programs to divert addicts from going to jail and hire additional state drug agents to combat trafficking.

Democratic Sen. Jon Erpenbach argued that Wisconsin should accept money from the federal government to expand Medicaid coverage, which could free up money to spend on fighting drug abuse.

Walker declared opioid abuse a public health crisis the day he called the special session on the latest package of bills, but Republicans who control the Legislature have moved slowly, spending four months getting the measures through both houses.