Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf encouraged the state legislature to pass a legislation that will create a procedure to deploy resources during a public health emergency.
On Monday, Wolf made the demand for the passage of Senate Bill 1001 as he signed the third renewal of his 90-day opioid disaster declaration.
Establishing a public health emergency mechanism is necessary
In a statement, the governor said, “I am pleased to be able to renew the opioid disaster declaration and proud of the work so many have done to date, but I want to stress the need to establish a mechanism for a public health emergency as outlined in Senate Bill 1001.”
In January, the governor declared a statewide disaster emergency to combat the opioid epidemic. Pennsylvania is among the states with highest rate of drug overdose deaths.
In April, State Senator Jay Costa introduced Senate Bill 1001, which empowers the Pennsylvania Department of Health Secretary to declare a public health emergency.
In addition, the legislation gives the Health Secretary the authority to create a more streamline procedure to use resources for the opioid epidemic or another public health crisis.
