MADISON, Wis. – Without explanation the Legislature’s Republican-controlled budget committee blocked Governor Tony Evers’ plans to spend $31 million ins settlement from opioid manufacturers. The committee’s co-chairs, Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, and Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, said in a statement that they want to improve the plan. They were not otherwise unspecific. The state Health Department received its first $6 million payment on July 29. Evers earmarked the money on the overdose cure Narcan, new treatment facilities, and enhancing data collection on overdose deaths. About the GOP blockage, Evers accused the Republicans of turning their backs on the people of Wisconsin, especially given increases in substance misuse and the mental and behavioral. :it simply defies logic,” Evers said.
