Rep. Brown renews call for House Bill 10 amid COVID-19 pandemic

State Rep. Richard D. Brown (D-Canal Winchester) today renewed his call for the passage of House Bill (HB) 10, which would create the Governor’s Office of Drug Policy to combat the overdose crisis in Ohio in a unified, comprehensive manner. HB 10 was designated a priority bill by Speaker Householder and is being supported by both Democrats and Republicans.

“The all-encompassing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic exemplifies exactly why we need a dedicated office to focus on drug addiction in our state. We cannot afford to take our eye off the ball even in the face of another crisis,” said Rep. Brown.

HB 10, which passed the Ohio House unanimously last summer and passed the Senate Local Government committee unanimously last fall, is currently awaiting approval in the Senate Finance committee.

“Despite the COVID-19 crisis, those struggling with addiction still have to deal with these issues, and that is harder to do in a system that is disjointed and without comprehensive state-wide direction,” Brown said. “As we have seen through the actions of Gov. DeWine in the coronavirus crisis, strong statewide leadership and direction can produce better results than local efforts disconnected to a larger strategy."

Rep. Brown is calling on the Senate Finance committee to send the bill to the Senate floor for consideration in order to give Governor DeWine additional tools to fight both public health crises.