Bill Text: TX SB1827 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Relating to the creation of the opioid abatement account, an opioid abatement trust fund, and a statewide opioid settlement agreement.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 3-1)
Status: (Passed) 2021-06-16 - Effective immediately [SB1827 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-SB1827-Enrolled.html
S.B. No. 1827 |
|
||
relating to the creation of the opioid abatement account, an opioid | ||
abatement trust fund, and a statewide opioid settlement agreement. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Chapter 403, Government Code, is amended by | ||
adding Subchapter R to read as follows: | ||
SUBCHAPTER R. STATEWIDE OPIOID SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT | ||
Sec. 403.501. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: | ||
(1) "Account" means the opioid abatement account | ||
established by Section 403.505. | ||
(2) "Council" means the Texas opioid abatement fund | ||
council established by Section 403.503 to manage the distribution | ||
of money allocated to the council from the opioid abatement trust | ||
fund in accordance with a statewide opioid settlement agreement. | ||
(3) "Fund" means the opioid abatement trust fund | ||
established by Section 403.506. | ||
(4) "Released entity" means an entity against which a | ||
claim is released under a statewide opioid settlement agreement. | ||
(5) "Statewide opioid settlement agreement" means all | ||
settlement agreements and related documents entered into by this | ||
state through the attorney general, political subdivisions that | ||
have brought a civil action for an opioid-related harm claim | ||
against an opioid manufacturer, distributor, or retailer, and | ||
opioid manufacturers, distributors, or retailers relating to | ||
illegal conduct in the marketing, promotion, sale, distribution, | ||
and dispensation of opioids that provide relief for this state and | ||
political subdivisions of this state. | ||
(6) "Trust company" means the Texas Treasury | ||
Safekeeping Trust Company. | ||
Sec. 403.502. SETTLEMENT RECORDS. The attorney general and | ||
comptroller shall maintain a copy of a statewide opioid settlement | ||
agreement, including any amendments to the agreement, and make the | ||
copy available on the attorney general's and comptroller's Internet | ||
websites. | ||
Sec. 403.503. TEXAS OPIOID ABATEMENT FUND COUNCIL. | ||
(a) The Texas opioid abatement fund council is established to | ||
ensure that money recovered by this state through a statewide | ||
opioid settlement agreement is allocated fairly and spent to | ||
remediate the opioid crisis in this state by using efficient and | ||
cost-effective methods that are directed to regions of this state | ||
experiencing opioid-related harms. | ||
(b) The council is composed of the following 14 members: | ||
(1) six regional members, appointed by the executive | ||
commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission, who are | ||
from academia or the medical profession with significant experience | ||
in opioid interventions and who each are appointed to represent one | ||
of the following groups of regional health care partnership | ||
regions: | ||
(A) regions 9 and 10; | ||
(B) region 3; | ||
(C) regions 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 19; | ||
(D) regions 6, 7, 8, and 16; | ||
(E) regions 1, 2, 17, and 18; and | ||
(F) regions 4, 5, and 20; | ||
(2) four members who are current or retired health | ||
care professionals holding or formerly holding a license under | ||
Title 3, Occupations Code, with significant experience in treating | ||
opioid-related harms and who are appointed as follows: | ||
(A) one member appointed by the governor; | ||
(B) one member appointed by the lieutenant | ||
governor; | ||
(C) one member appointed by the speaker of the | ||
house of representatives; and | ||
(D) one member appointed by the attorney general; | ||
(3) one member who is employed by a hospital district | ||
and is appointed by the governor; | ||
(4) one member who is employed by a hospital district | ||
and is appointed by the attorney general; | ||
(5) one member appointed by the governor and who is a | ||
member of a law enforcement agency and has experience with | ||
opioid-related harms; and | ||
(6) one nonvoting member who serves as the presiding | ||
officer of the council and is the comptroller or the comptroller's | ||
designee. | ||
(c) In making appointments under Subsection (b)(1), the | ||
executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission | ||
shall appoint members from a list of two qualified candidates | ||
provided by the governing bodies of counties and municipalities | ||
that: | ||
(1) brought a civil action for an opioid-related harm | ||
against a released entity; | ||
(2) released an opioid-related harm claim in a | ||
statewide opioid settlement agreement; and | ||
(3) are located within the regions for which the | ||
member is being appointed. | ||
(d) In making appointments under Subsection (b), the | ||
governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house of | ||
representatives, and attorney general shall coordinate to ensure | ||
that the membership of the council reflects, to the extent | ||
possible, the ethnic and geographic diversity of this state. | ||
(e) The council is administratively attached to the | ||
comptroller. The comptroller shall provide the staff and | ||
facilities necessary to assist the council in performing its | ||
duties. | ||
Sec. 403.504. COUNCIL OPERATION. (a) A council member is | ||
not entitled to compensation for council service but is entitled to | ||
reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in | ||
performing council duties. | ||
(b) The council may hold public meetings as necessary to | ||
fulfill its duties under this subchapter. | ||
(c) The council is subject to Chapters 551 and 552. | ||
Sec. 403.505. OPIOID ABATEMENT ACCOUNT. (a) The opioid | ||
abatement account is a dedicated account in the general revenue | ||
fund administered by the comptroller. | ||
(b) The account is composed of: | ||
(1) money obtained from a statewide opioid settlement | ||
agreement and deposited in the account under Section 403.507; | ||
(2) money received by the state from any other source | ||
resulting directly or indirectly from an action by the state | ||
against an opioid manufacturer, an opioid distributor, or another | ||
person in the opioid industry relating to a violation of state or | ||
federal law on the manufacture, marketing, distribution, or sale of | ||
opioids, other than money distributed to a political subdivision of | ||
the state in accordance with the terms of a settlement agreement or | ||
judgment; | ||
(3) money appropriated or transferred to the account | ||
by the legislature; | ||
(4) gifts and grants contributed to the account; and | ||
(5) earnings on the principal of the account. | ||
(c) Money in the account may be appropriated only to a state | ||
agency for the abatement of opioid-related harms. | ||
(d) A state agency may use money appropriated from the | ||
account only to: | ||
(1) prevent opioid use disorder through | ||
evidence-based education and prevention, such as school-based | ||
prevention, early intervention, or health care services or programs | ||
intended to reduce the risk of opioid use by school-age children; | ||
(2) support efforts to prevent or reduce deaths from | ||
opioid overdoses or other opioid-related harms, including through | ||
increasing the availability or distribution of naloxone or other | ||
opioid antagonists for use by health care providers, first | ||
responders, persons experiencing an opioid overdose, families, | ||
schools, community-based service providers, social workers, or | ||
other members of the public; | ||
(3) create and provide training on the treatment of | ||
opioid addiction, including the treatment of opioid dependence with | ||
each medication approved for that purpose by the United States Food | ||
and Drug Administration, medical detoxification, relapse | ||
prevention, patient assessment, individual treatment planning, | ||
counseling, recovery supports, diversion control, and other best | ||
practices; | ||
(4) provide opioid use disorder treatment for youths | ||
and adults, with an emphasis on programs that provide a continuum of | ||
care that includes screening and assessment for opioid use disorder | ||
and co-occurring behavioral health disorders, early intervention, | ||
contingency management, cognitive behavioral therapy, case | ||
management, relapse management, counseling services, and | ||
medication-assisted treatments; | ||
(5) provide patients suffering from opioid dependence | ||
with access to all medications approved by the United States Food | ||
and Drug Administration for the treatment of opioid dependence and | ||
relapse prevention following opioid detoxification, including | ||
opioid agonists, partial agonists, and antagonists; | ||
(6) support efforts to reduce the abuse or misuse of | ||
addictive prescription medications, including tools used to give | ||
health care providers information needed to protect the public from | ||
the harm caused by improper use of those medications; | ||
(7) support treatment alternatives that provide both | ||
psychosocial support and medication-assisted treatments in areas | ||
with geographical or transportation-related challenges, including | ||
providing access to mobile health services and telemedicine, | ||
particularly in rural areas; | ||
(8) address: | ||
(A) the needs of persons involved with criminal | ||
justice; and | ||
(B) rural county unattended deaths; or | ||
(9) further any other purpose related to opioid | ||
abatement authorized by appropriation. | ||
(e) Section 404.071 does not apply to the account. | ||
Sec. 403.506. OPIOID ABATEMENT TRUST FUND. (a) The opioid | ||
abatement trust fund is a trust fund established outside of the | ||
state treasury for the purposes of this subchapter that is | ||
administered by the trust company. The trust company may authorize | ||
money from the fund to be invested with money from the state | ||
treasury. | ||
(b) The fund consists of: | ||
(1) money obtained under a statewide opioid settlement | ||
agreement and deposited in the fund under Section 403.507; and | ||
(2) interest, dividends, and other income of the fund. | ||
(c) The trust company shall: | ||
(1) distribute to counties and municipalities to | ||
address opioid-related harms in those communities an amount equal | ||
to 15 percent of the total amount of money obtained under a | ||
statewide opioid settlement agreement and distributed to the fund | ||
and the account under Section 403.507; and | ||
(2) allocate an amount equal to 70 percent of the total | ||
amount of money obtained under a statewide opioid settlement | ||
agreement and distributed to the fund and the account under Section | ||
403.507 as follows: | ||
(A) $5 million of the amount distributed to the | ||
fund to the Texas Access to Justice Foundation to be expended only | ||
on the order of the Supreme Court of Texas for the purpose of | ||
providing basic civil legal services to indigent persons directly | ||
impacted by opioid-use disorders, including children who need basic | ||
civil legal services as a result of opioid-use disorders by a | ||
parent, legal guardian or caretaker; and | ||
(B) the remainder of that 70 percent to the | ||
council. | ||
(d) The trust company shall distribute money allocated | ||
under Subsection (c)(2) at the direction of the council. | ||
(e) The council shall provide to the trust company an annual | ||
forecast of money deposited and withdrawn from the fund and provide | ||
updates to the forecast as appropriate to ensure the trust company | ||
is able to achieve the council's directives. | ||
(f) In investing money from the fund and subject to the | ||
council's direction, the trust company has the same investment | ||
authority with respect to the fund as the comptroller has under | ||
Sections 404.0241(a) and (c) with respect to the economic | ||
stabilization fund. | ||
Sec. 403.507. DEPOSIT AND ALLOCATION OF SETTLEMENT MONEY; | ||
EFFECT OF BANKRUPTCY. (a) Money obtained under a statewide opioid | ||
settlement agreement must be deposited as provided by this section | ||
and further allocated in accordance with the settlement agreement. | ||
(b) Of money obtained under a statewide opioid settlement | ||
agreement: | ||
(1) 15 percent shall be deposited into the account; | ||
and | ||
(2) 85 percent shall be deposited into the fund. | ||
(c) For the purposes of a statewide opioid settlement | ||
agreement in relation to a bankruptcy plan for a released entity, | ||
money is distributed in accordance with the bankruptcy plan. | ||
Sec. 403.508. COUNCIL ALLOCATION OF MONEY. (a) Of the | ||
money allocated to the council under Section 403.506(c)(2), the | ||
council shall allocate: | ||
(1) one percent to the comptroller for the | ||
administration of the council and this subchapter; | ||
(2) 15 percent to hospital districts; and | ||
(3) the remaining money based on the opioid abatement | ||
strategy developed by the council under Section 403.509. | ||
(b) The comptroller may spend money from the fund for | ||
purposes of Subsection (a)(1). If the comptroller determines that | ||
the allocation under that subdivision exceeds the amount that is | ||
reasonable and necessary for the comptroller to administer the | ||
council and this subchapter, the comptroller may reallocate the | ||
excess money in accordance with Subsection (a)(3). | ||
Sec. 403.509. COUNCIL POWERS AND DUTIES AND | ||
COUNCIL-APPROVED OPIOID ABATEMENT STRATEGY. (a) The council | ||
shall: | ||
(1) determine and approve one or more evidence-based | ||
opioid abatement strategies that include: | ||
(A) an annual regional allocation methodology to | ||
distribute 75 percent of money distributed under Section | ||
403.508(a)(3) based on population health information and | ||
prevalence of opioid incidences as provided by law; and | ||
(B) an annual targeted allocation to distribute | ||
25 percent of money distributed under Section 403.508(a)(3) for | ||
targeted interventions as identified by opioid incidence | ||
information; | ||
(2) wholly or partly reallocate the targeted money | ||
between regions if a region for which targeted money is allocated is | ||
unable to use all of the targeted money; | ||
(3) develop an application and award process for | ||
funding; | ||
(4) review grant funding applications and provide | ||
grant awards and funding allocations; | ||
(5) monitor grant agreements authorized by this | ||
subchapter and require each grant recipient to comply with the | ||
terms of the grant agreement or reimburse the grant to the council; | ||
and | ||
(6) determine the percentage of money that may be used | ||
for development of education and outreach programs to provide | ||
materials on the consequences of opioid drug use and prevention and | ||
intervention, including online resources and toolkits. | ||
(b) The council may reallocate money between regions based | ||
on the funding needs of all regions if money allocated to a region | ||
lapses or is not used in the year that the money is allocated for use | ||
in the region. | ||
(c) To approve any decision or strategy, at least four of | ||
the members appointed under Section 403.503(b)(1) and four of the | ||
members appointed under Sections 403.503(b)(2)-(5) must approve | ||
the decision or strategy. | ||
Sec. 403.510. REPORT. Not later than October 1 of each | ||
year, the council shall submit a written report to the legislature | ||
detailing all expenditures made by the council during the preceding | ||
state fiscal year. | ||
Sec. 403.511. RULEMAKING. The council may adopt rules to | ||
implement this subchapter. | ||
SECTION 2. The individuals responsible for appointing the | ||
Texas opioid abatement fund council under Section 403.503, | ||
Government Code, as added by this Act, shall make all appointments | ||
under that section not later than the 60th day after the effective | ||
date of this Act. | ||
SECTION 3. The comptroller of public accounts is required | ||
to implement a provision of this Act only if the legislature | ||
appropriates money specifically for that purpose. If the | ||
legislature does not appropriate money specifically for that | ||
purpose, the comptroller may, but is not required to, implement a | ||
provision of this Act using other appropriations available for that | ||
purpose. | ||
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
Act takes effect September 1, 2021. | ||
______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1827 passed the Senate on | ||
April 28, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that | ||
the Senate concurred in House amendments on May 29, 2021, by the | ||
following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Secretary of the Senate | ||
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1827 passed the House, with | ||
amendments, on May 24, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 143, | ||
Nays 0, one present not voting. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||
Approved: | ||
______________________________ | ||
Date | ||
______________________________ | ||
Governor |