STATE, 0? HOUSE. or Reraasriiv?rA?rtvEs carter. AnousrA, massesm .. {207) 287?1308 MARK eves SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE December 10, 2015 Governor Paul LePage #1 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333-0001 Dear Governor LePage, I wanted to officially share with you information about the comprehensive propOsal to address Maine?s drug crisis that Senate President Thibodeau and I rolled out yesterday along with a group of bipartisan lawmakers. - I know that your staff has received copies of the plan, but I wanted to personally share background information with you on the proposal. I hear pleas every day from countless parents, members of law enforcement, healthcare providers and community leaders for more help in ?ghting drug addiction in our state. I?m proud to have worked with the bipartisan group of leaders to craft a plan that is an important ?rst step in our efforts to ensure the health and safety of our families and communities. I was pleased to hear your statement on MPBN about the need to invest signi?cantly more dollars towards education and treatment programs. I wholeheartedly agree. I was however surprised in light of your recent comments at University of Southern Maine in Portland disagreeing with the effectiveness of treatment and your continued sole focus on funding for law enforcement. These are Maine citizens, our neighbors, and our children. They deserve our compassion and support. The strength of our state depends on the strength of our families, and for too long, our families have been struggling alone. This crisis will take all of Maine?s leaders rolling up our sleeves and getting to work. We are proud of the proposal we laid out and would like to get more details about the role your administration can play in bolstering treatment and education efforts. Our previous meeting with your staff did not yield clear proposals in this area; we look forward to future opportunities to hear from you. As always I am available to meet to discuss our plan and any proposals you may have in person. We must cast politics aside and strive to work together? the lives of Mainers depend on it. Sincerely, Mark Eves Speaker of the House Maine Legislature Speakeris Of?ce .stieeiceretresmetp Targeted Comprehensive Approach to Address the State?s Drug Crisis 0 Strengthen Law Enforcement: TOTAL of $2.4 million over 18 months 0 Increase the number of Drug Enforcement Agency Agents statewide by 10 in order to conduct more drug investigations, arrest more drug traffickers and slow down the flow of drugs into the state. Estimated cost 2 $2.4 million 0 Assist Local Law Enforcement Efforts to Help People Seeking Treatment and Recovery: Establish new Project Hope programs in 5 new communities across the state. Estimated cost $10,000 (small amount of money for start-up or other minor funding needs) 0 Strengthen Prevention, Treatment and Recovery Efforts: TOTAL of $2.4 million over 18 months 0 Fund a new 10 bed Detox unit. Estimated cost 2 $1 million. I Currently Maine has limited services for clients in need of detoxification. 0 Increase access to residential treatment for uninsured. Estimated cost $600,000 0 Increase access to Outpatient Services for the uninsured. Estimated cost $200,000 0 At least double the number of peer support recovery centers throughout the state to ensure that people avoid relapse. (This will include funding for a coordinator housed at a statewide organization. This position will coordinate the efforts of law enforcement, treatment, education and recovery programs to successfully replicate programs like the Hope Project in other parts of the state.) Estimated cost $600,000 0 Encourage effective prevention and education programming in schools. Estimated cost minimal cost to incorporate existing programming in more schools across the state. EHI-G blAlL a i)rrn l" t: f. .L 101"?. "fit {\lAlNl HF THE 0-1-3: in 7; December 17, 2015 Honorable Mark W. Eves Speaker of the House 2 State House Station Augusta, ME 04333 Dear Speaker Eves, Thank you for providing me with a copy of your ?comprehensive proposal.? It appears to be nothing more than a few bullet points with no source of funding identi?ed to implement your ideas. If you were truly concerned about saving the lives of Mainers, you would have funded my plan a year-and-a-half ago to get more MDEA agents on the streets. They would be on the job right now, hunting down the drug traf?ckers and organized gangs who are surging into our state and selling the poison that is killing our neighbors. The price of playing politics and delaying my plan has been paid with the lives of the very people the Legislature claims to care about. It is not compassionate to wait until bodies hit the ?oor, then test which way the political wind is blowing before you decide to do what?s right. The Legislature is constantly in a state of reaction, always waiting for a crisis to develop before ?nally taking steps to address it. Sadly, those steps are often symbolic, usually involving some catchy sound bites and a smattering of bullet points. For ?ve years, my administration has been proactive in our budgeting, ?scal management, welfare reform and infrastructure improvements. We have done the same with the drug pandemic now ravaging our state?even though the Legislature has worked hard to deliberately thwart our efforts. Our proposal a year-and-a?half ago was a proactive plan to interrupt the supply of heroin and other deadly drugs into our state before Maine people could get hooked on them. Years ago, we implemented a pain management program that has cut Medicaid painkiller prescriptions in half, narrowing the gateway to heroin addiction. Your approach is to wait until our fellow Mainers are addicted, then throw more and more of the taxpayers? money at treatment and recovery programs with no accountability over how ef?cient or effective these programs really are. We spent $76 million on treatment and recovery last year, but only $3 million on MDEA and zero on education. Your priorities are lopsided and designed II I I 1] ll?l' LXI-RF Ii! ~u mu: to be politically expedient, but they are certainly not compassionate to Maine families losing loved ones on a daily basis. Mr. Speaker, you are entitled to your opinion, but you are not entitled to make up your own facts. Sincerely, Paul R. LePage Governor CC: President Thibodeau