Reeves vetoes three opioid-settlement line items

Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves vetoed three line items in HB 1924 on Wednesday, removing $1.55 million in opioid-settlement funding for three organizations because the projects lacked vetting by the Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Council, Reeves said in a Facebook post.

The cuts include $500,000 for Hope Squad to identify students in need related to the opioid crisis; $800,000 for the Gulf Coast Center for Nonviolence to expand evidence-based treatment and recovery services, including recovery and peer support; and $250,000 for Finally First to provide life-skills training to 15 public schools in four counties, Reeves said.

Reeves said the Legislature established the advisory council last year and that it included Chief Justice Mike Randolph, Attorney General Lynn Fitch, members of several executive agencies and members of the public with expertise in substance use disorders. He said the council met repeatedly to review more than 125 applications and made recommendations that the Legislature largely accepted and he approved. Reeves said the three line items did not appear in the council’s final report and lacked analysis, so he used line-item vetoes because he had no knowledge of the entities or the specific purpose and expertise that would warrant the funds.

The Attorney General’s Office, when reached for comment, said it is preparing for this year’s round of funding and is committed to getting the money where it is needed quickly and to assisting the council, the office said in a written response. Reeves encouraged the affected agencies to reapply, saying the vetoes are not a final determination on the entities’ worthiness but reflect noncompliance with the current application process, he said in his post.

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