NY Gov. Kathy Hochul vetoes bill to fight fentanyl scourge

With a deadly crisis of fentanyl-related overdose deaths fast becoming a scourge in the US, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has vetoed a bipartisan bill aimed at fighting the problem.

The measure, unanimously approved by both the state Assembly and Senate in the spring — but left in the Democratic governor’s drawer as she ran for election — would create a 16-member fentanyl abuse and overdose prevention task force to consult with experts and issue a report within a year to bolster New York’s efforts to address the addictive scourge, both in terms of enforcement and treatment.

Staten Island District Attorney Mike McMahon and lawmakers ripped Hochul on Wednesday for spiking the legislation.

“Frustrated & confused why Governor Hochul vetoed this bill. More NY’ers are dying from overdose than ever + this bill would have brought stakeholders together to implement real solutions,” tweeted McMahon, a Democrat who is first vice president of the NYS District Attorneys Association.

“We will continue our fight to hold drug dealers accountable + help those battling addiction.”

To underscore the point, McMahon noted that fentanyl accounts for 80 percent of overdose deaths in the borough.

The bipartisan measure was pushed by state Sen. Diane Savino and Assemblyman Michael Cusick — both Democrats — and co-sponsored by Republican Assemblymen Michael Reilly and Michael Tannousis.

“We are disappointed with the veto of our fentanyl task force bill but are confident that the governor understands the gravity of this issue and that it will be addressed next session,” Savino and Cusick said in a joint statement.

Reilly and Tannousis said in a tweeted statement that Hochul’s veto “is yet another one of her infamous bold-faced dismissals of public opinion when it comes to matters weighed by state lawmakers in Albany.”

“What we are witnessing in New York right now is a public health emergency unlike any other — yet the only emergencies that Kathy Hochul seems focused on are those that are self-proclaimed and politically expedient.”

Hochul, in a series of veto messages last week, said the fentanyl fighting bill was one of 39 measures that would have created task forces and commissions costing about $40 million that was not accounted for in the state budget. Politicians often use such panels as a dodge when they don’t have immediate fixes to problems, but the lawmakers said the fentanyl task force is an earnest attempt to craft a more comprehensive solution to the crisis.

The Staten Island Advance first reported on Hochul’s veto of the anti-fentanyl bill.

“None of these costs are accounted for in the State Financial Plan,” Hochul wrote. “Without appropriate funding, these unbudgeted costs would create significant staffing and other programmatic burdens on state agencies.”

Hochul spokesman Avi Small responded, “As one of the millions of Americans who has lost a loved one to the opioid epidemic, Governor Hochul has a deep personal commitment to fighting this crisis and will continue her administration’s ongoing efforts to address overdoses and addiction. The governor recently vetoed dozens of bills that would have cost taxpayers $40 million in unbudgeted costs, and we are committed to working with the legislature on ways to crack down on fentanyl and protect New Yorkers.”

State commissioners of health, mental health, addiction services and reps from the DAs and state police would serve on the panel along with appointees selected by the governor and legislative leaders.

In their bill memo, Savino and Cusick said that while pharmaceutical fentanyl is a synthetic opioid dispensed for treatment of severe pain, most fentanyl overdose deaths are related to opioids mixed with heroin or cocaine, “often without the user’s knowledge.”

They also emphasized that “deadly amounts” of fentanyl are often added to other
counterfeit pills being sold as xanax or oxycodone.

“These illegally made drugs are sold on the drug market relatively cheaply, which is why so many individuals with a substance use disorder can afford these drugs. Overdose deaths involving these synthetic opioids has increased at an alarming raze. The pandemic has further exacerbated the situation, and though naloxone, which can overturn an overdose if caught in time, the overdose deaths continue to rise,” the lawmakers said.