When it comes to fighting the opioid crisis, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s State of the State agenda looks to make some strides, but its not exactly what advocates were hoping to see.

“It was a lot of the same old, same old,” said Chris Assini, director of policy for Friends of Recovery New York.

While not a focus of her State of the State address, Hochul devoted a portion of her agenda to initiatives.

Assini describes the proposals — which include expanding access to treatment medications in underserved areas, expanding street outreach, and aligning the state with federal drug scheduling — as falling short of what is needed to fight the crisis.

“We’re disappointed that there was a lack of tangible investment, and I would say, care in a chronically underfunded health sector like substance use,” he said. 

He said there are glimmers of progress, though.

Assini is encouraged by Hochul’s proposal to allow EMTs to administer the opioid use disorder treatment drug buprenorphine, as well as allowing providers to prescribe a three-day supply of opioid use disorder medication.

“It’s great that we’re doing the right thing. I think it’s long overdue and a step in the right direction,” he said.

Fighting the crisis in New York has seen bipartisan cooperation.

As for the governor’s proposals, Republican state Assemblymember Keith Brown, ranking member on the Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Committee, said he also sees promise in those care-based ideas, but would like to see training for EMTs incorporated.

What he also doesn’t see: strategies for workforce development that he argues are crucial to get at the heart of the crisis.

“We’re seeing Baby Boomers retire, and we need more people to get into these fields,” he said.

Both agree that the governor’s intense interest in funding mental health initiatives should better intersect with efforts to treat substance use, especially among young people, Brown said.

“We really need to help kids and teenagers before they become substance users, and improving their social and emotional needs,” he told Spectrum News 1.

Assini said he would like to see attention paid to funding more programming, especially programs that provide peer support.

“I wish she would look at peer services in the context of substance use areas the way she does with mental health services, and there were some wonderful initiatives that we would have loved to have seen in the budget,” he said.

Among what he would like to see included in one-house budget proposals is the Overdose Prevention and Recovery Act, which directs that at least 20% of funds from the state's opioid stewardship fund be invested in recovery services and supports while requiring an annual report to the Legislature on how the money is spent. Both Assini and Brown also expressed concern that the state is too reliant on opioid settlement funds.