Pennsylvania lawmakers allow opioid emergency to lapse

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Pennsylvania’s opioid disaster declaration is set to expire at the end of Wednesday after state lawmakers declined the governor’s request for another extension. Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf first issued a disaster declaration in January 2018 after Pennsylvania set a record for opioid deaths, then renewed it more than a dozen times as the state battled an epidemic that has worsened during the coronavirus pandemic. Wolf needed legislative approval to extend it again after Pennsylvania voters gave the General Assembly more say over the length of a disaster declaration and the management of it. GOP leaders in the House and Senate said the opioid crisis will be a “top legislative priority” in the fall.