Gov. Baker Prods State Lawmakers to Approve Opioid Bill

BOSTON (AP) — Republican Gov. Charlie Baker is prodding state lawmakers to agree on a final version of a wide-ranging bill designed to address the state’s deadly opioid addiction crisis.

Baker told reporters on Wednesday that the “clock is ticking” and that every day that goes by another four people die in Massachusetts from opioid-related overdoses.

Democratic House Speaker Robert DeLeo says a six-member House and Senate conference committee is working to hammer out a single compromise version of the bill.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren and U.S. Rep. Katherine Clark also teamed up on Wednesday to push legislation that would let patients request that pharmacists only partially fill opioid prescriptions.

The bill’s goal is to help curb the spike in opioid overdose deaths by reducing the number of pills in circulation.