A consolidated budget amendment released by House leadership Tuesday evening would add nearly $9 million in state spending for public health services, including multiple proposals addressing substance abuse.
Carrying a total cost of $8.97 million, the omnibus amendment adds $2.38 million in funding for the Bureau of Substance Abuse Service. The amendment would bring the bureau’s appropriation up to $128,972,987 and earmark some of those funds for specific programs, including a statewide initiative for care of newborns with neonatal abstinence syndrome; substance abuse outreach and intervention in the greater Milford area and services for women in the Boston region.
The amendment also includes $500,000 for a prostate cancer awareness program and $200,000 in funding for community health centers in Holyoke, Lynn, Worcester and Jamaica Plain to conduct a postpartum depression pilot program.
The public health consolidated amendment, which dispenses with 125 individual amendments filed by lawmakers, was released to members around 6 p.m. during a dinner break. The House plans to return from recess at 7 p.m.
