The issue causing controversy is the inclusion of safe injection sites, which is included in the Senate bill but not the House version. There is little time left in session to find compromise.
Disagreement bubbled up in the waning moments of Massachusetts' legislative formal session this week.
“It’s a bit disappointing, members worked hard on the bill,” said House Speaker Rep. Ron Mariano.
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“The Senate will continue to roll up its sleeves,” said Senate President, Sen. Karen Spilka.
The House and Senate are divided over a substance use bill, grappling with whether towns statewide can create safe, monitored injection sites.
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The Senate bill includes that policy but the House version, which passed last month, leaves it out.
“To throw it in the bill at the last minute, knowing it would be difficult to put a conference committee together tells me you aren’t serious about getting the bill done,” said Mariano.
Normally a policy difference like this would be given to a collection of members from both chambers to hammer out a compromise, but with limited time remaining, momentum on the issue seems to be slowing.
Politics
“It’s a long shot, highly unlikely,” Mariano said when asked if there was enough time for the process to find compromise.
But Spilka and her members are pushing back.
“The House produced some major proposal today, they came out with seven bills yesterday,” she said, arguing that safe injection sites take a good bill and make it even stronger.
“This is one tool in an overall package,” said Sen. Julian Cyr, “Overdose prevention centers have shown promise.”
Formal sessions end at midnight on July 31, with lawmakers running the risk of this bill being scrapped if no compromise is reached.
