With just more than day left in the state’s legislative session, some lawmakers are frustrated with the timing of the major amendment, which leaves little room for discussion.
A last-minute amendment could allow overdose prevention centers, also known as supervised consumption sites, to open in Massachusetts.
But with one day until the end of the state’s legislative session, the proposal may have come too late to reasonably expect it to pass, a leading lawmaker said Tuesday.
House Speaker Ronald Mariano took a jab at Senate Democrats after a committee amended an opioid crisis response bill on Monday to allow overdose prevention centers, sites where people can use pre-obtained illicit drugs under supervision. The House had previously passed their version of the bill weeks earlier in June.
“Anytime you release a bill the day before the session ends, it’s a very difficult expectation for us to hear it, especially when it has proposals, major proposals, that we haven’t even had the opportunity to debate or vote on,” Mariano told reporters. “It sort of tells me you’re not really serious about passing the bill to begin with.”