Connecticut 2023 Regular Session

Connecticut Senate Bill SB01163 Compare Versions

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Version 2 (New)

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7	5		General Assembly Raised Bill No. 1163
8	6		January Session, 2023
9	7		LCO No. 5024
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11	9
12		-	Referred to Committee on PUBLIC SAFETY AND
13		-	SECURITY
	10	+	Referred to Committee on PUBLIC SAFETY AND SECURITY
14	11
15	12
16	13		Introduced by:
17	14		(PS)
	15	+
18	16
19	17
20	18
21	19		AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE USE OF OPIOID SETTLEMENT FUNDS
22	20		TO PROVIDE MUNICIPAL POLICE OFFICERS WITH OPIOID
23	21		ANTAGONISTS.
24	22		Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
25	23		Assembly convened:
26	24
27	25		Section 1. Section 17a-674c of the general statutes is repealed and the 1
28	26		following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective July 1, 2023): 2
29	27		(a) There is established an Opioid Settlement Fund which shall be a 3
30	28		separate nonlapsing fund administered by the committee. 4
31	29		(b) Any moneys intended to address opioid use, related disorders or 5
32		-	the impact of the opioid epidemic that are received by the state from 6
33		-	~~any~~ judgment, consent decree or settlement paid by any defendant, 7
34		-	~~which is~~ finalized on or after July 1, 2021, related to the production, 8
35		-	~~distribution,~~ dispensing and other activities related to opioids shall be 9
36		-	~~deposited into~~ the fund. Moneys remaining in the fund at the end of a 10
37		-	~~fiscal year shall~~ not revert to the General Fund. 11
38		-	(c) Notwithstanding any provision of subsection (b) of this section, 12
39		-	if the commissioner and the Attorney General certify that the purposes 13 Bill No. 1163
	30	+	the impact of the opioid epidemic that are received by the state from any 6
	31	+	judgment, consent decree or settlement paid by any defendant, which is 7
	32	+	finalized on or after July 1, 2021, related to the production, distribution, 8
	33	+	dispensing and other activities related to opioids shall be deposited into 9
	34	+	the fund. Moneys remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall 10
	35	+	not revert to the General Fund. 11
	36	+	(c) Notwithstanding any provision of subsection (b) of this section, if 12
	37	+	the commissioner and the Attorney General certify that the purposes of 13 Raised Bill No. 1163
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46		-	of such judgment, consent decree or settlement are inconsistent with 14
47		-	the intent of the provisions of this section and sections 17a-674d to 17a-15
48		-	674f, inclusive, the commissioner and Attorney General (1) shall report 16
49		-	in writing to the committee such certification, including any 17
50		-	identification by the commissioner and Attorney General of an 18
51		-	alternate fund or account and explanation of the reasons for depositing 19
52		-	such moneys in such alternate fund or account, and (2) may deposit 20
53		-	such moneys into such alternate fund or account. The commissioner 21
54		-	and Attorney General shall jointly report, in accordance with the 22
55		-	provisions of section 11-4a, to the joint standing committee of the 23
56		-	General Assembly having cognizance of matters relating to public 24
57		-	health regarding the intended use of such moneys in such alternate 25
58		-	fund or account prior to allocating such moneys for other purposes. 26
	41	+	LCO No. 5024 2 of 6
	42	+
	43	+	such judgment, consent decree or settlement are inconsistent with the 14
	44	+	intent of the provisions of this section and sections 17a-674d to 17a-674f, 15
	45	+	inclusive, the commissioner and Attorney General (1) shall report in 16
	46	+	writing to the committee such certification, including any identification 17
	47	+	by the commissioner and Attorney General of an alternate fund or 18
	48	+	account and explanation of the reasons for depositing such moneys in 19
	49	+	such alternate fund or account, and (2) may deposit such moneys into 20
	50	+	such alternate fund or account. The commissioner and Attorney General 21
	51	+	shall jointly report, in accordance with the provisions of section 11-4a, 22
	52	+	to the joint standing committee of the General Assembly having 23
	53	+	cognizance of matters relating to public health regarding the intended 24
	54	+	use of such moneys in such alternate fund or account prior to allocating 25
	55	+	such moneys for other purposes. 26
59	56		(d) Beginning on December 31, 2022, and annually thereafter, the 27
60	57		State Treasurer shall report the following to the committee: 28
61		-	(1) An inventory of fund investments as of the most recent fiscal 29
62		-	~~year;~~ and 30
	58	+	(1) An inventory of fund investments as of the most recent fiscal year; 29
	59	+	and 30
63	60		(2) The net income earned by the fund in the most recent fiscal year. 31
64		-	(e) Moneys in the fund shall be spent only for the following 32
65		-	~~substance~~ use disorder abatement purposes, in accordance with the 33
66		-	~~controlling~~ judgment, consent decree or settlement, as confirmed by 34
67		-	~~the Attorney~~ General's review of such judgment, consent decree or 35
68		-	~~settlement and~~ upon the approval of the committee and the Secretary 36
69		-	~~of the Office of~~ Policy and Management: 37
	61	+	(e) Moneys in the fund shall be spent only for the following substance 32
	62	+	use disorder abatement purposes, in accordance with the controlling 33
	63	+	judgment, consent decree or settlement, as confirmed by the Attorney 34
	64	+	General's review of such judgment, consent decree or settlement and 35
	65	+	upon the approval of the committee and the Secretary of the Office of 36
	66	+	Policy and Management: 37
70	67		(1) State-wide, regional or community substance use disorder needs 38
71	68		assessments to identify structural gaps and needs to inform 39
72	69		expenditures from the fund; 40
73		-	(2) Infrastructure required for evidence-based substance use 41
74		-	~~disorder~~ prevention, treatment, recovery or harm reduction programs, 42
75		-	~~services~~ and supports; 43 Bill No. 1163
	70	+	(2) Infrastructure required for evidence-based substance use disorder 41
	71	+	prevention, treatment, recovery or harm reduction programs, services 42
	72	+	and supports; 43 Raised Bill No. 1163
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81	77
82	78		(3) Programs, services, supports and resources for evidence-based 44
83	79		substance use disorder prevention, treatment, recovery or harm 45
84	80		reduction; 46
85		-	(4) Evidence-informed substance use disorder prevention, 47
86		-	treatment, recovery or harm reduction pilot p rograms or 48
87		-	demonstration studies that are not evidence-based, but are approved 49
88		-	by the committee as an appropriate use of moneys for a limited period 50
89		-	of time as specified by the committee, provided the committee shall 51
90		-	assess whether the evidence supports funding such programs or 52
91		-	studies or whether it provides a basis for funding such programs or 53
92		-	studies with an expectation of creating an evidence base for such 54
93		-	programs and studies; 55
94		-	(5) Evaluation of effectiveness and outcomes reporting for substance 56
95		-	use disorder abatement infrastructure, programs, services, supports 57
96		-	and resources for which moneys from the fund have been disbursed, 58
97		-	including, but not limited to, impact on access to harm reduction 59
98		-	services or treatment for substance use disorders or reduction in drug-60
99		-	related mortality; 61
100		-	(6) One or more publicly available data interfaces managed by the 62
101		-	commissioner to aggregate, track and report data on (A) substance use 63
102		-	disorders, overdoses and drug-related harms, (B) spending 64
103		-	recommendations, plans and reports, and (C) outcomes of programs, 65
104		-	services, supports and resources for which moneys from the fund were 66
105		-	disbursed; 67
106		-	(7) Research on opioid abatement, including, but not limited to, 68
107		-	development of evidence-based treatment, barriers to treatment, 69
108		-	nonopioid treatment of chronic pain and harm reduction, supply-side 70
109		-	enforcement; 71
110		-	(8) Documented expenses incurred in administering and staffing the 72
111		-	fund and the committee, and expenses, including, but not limited to, 73
112		-	legal fees, incurred by the state or any municipality in securing 74 Bill No. 1163
	81	+	(4) Evidence-informed substance use disorder prevention, treatment, 47
	82	+	recovery or harm reduction pilot programs or demonstration studies 48
	83	+	that are not evidence-based, but are approved by the committee as an 49
	84	+	appropriate use of moneys for a limited period of time as specified by 50
	85	+	the committee, provided the committee shall assess whether the 51
	86	+	evidence supports funding such programs or studies or whether it 52
	87	+	provides a basis for funding such programs or studies with an 53
	88	+	expectation of creating an evidence base for such programs and studies; 54
	89	+	(5) Evaluation of effectiveness and outcomes reporting for substance 55
	90	+	use disorder abatement infrastructure, programs, services, supports and 56
	91	+	resources for which moneys from the fund have been disbursed, 57
	92	+	including, but not limited to, impact on access to harm reduction 58
	93	+	services or treatment for substance use disorders or reduction in drug-59
	94	+	related mortality; 60
	95	+	(6) One or more publicly available data interfaces managed by the 61
	96	+	commissioner to aggregate, track and report data on (A) substance use 62
	97	+	disorders, overdoses and drug-related harms, (B) spending 63
	98	+	recommendations, plans and reports, and (C) outcomes of programs, 64
	99	+	services, supports and resources for which moneys from the fund were 65
	100	+	disbursed; 66
	101	+	(7) Research on opioid abatement, including, but not limited to, 67
	102	+	development of evidence-based treatment, barriers to treatment, 68
	103	+	nonopioid treatment of chronic pain and harm reduction, supply-side 69
	104	+	enforcement; 70
	105	+	(8) Documented expenses incurred in administering and staffing the 71
	106	+	fund and the committee, and expenses, including, but not limited to, 72
	107	+	legal fees, incurred by the state or any municipality in securing 73
	108	+	settlement proceeds, deposited in the fund as permitted by the 74
	109	+	controlling judgment, consent decree or settlement; 75 Raised Bill No. 1163
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119		-	settlement proceeds, deposited in the fund as permitted by the 75
120		-	controlling judgment, consent decree or settlement; 76
121		-	(9) Documented expenses associated with managing, investing and 77
122		-	disbursing moneys in the fund; [and] 78
123		-	(10) Documented expenses, including legal fees, incurred by the 79
124		-	state or any municipality in securing settlement proceeds deposited in 80
125		-	the fund to the extent such expenses are not otherwise reimbursed 81
126		-	pursuant to a fee agreement provided for by the controlling judgment, 82
127		-	consent decree or settlement; and 83
128		-	(11) Provision of funds to municipal police departments for the 84
129		-	purpose of equipping police officers with opioid antagonists, with 85
130		-	priority given to departments that do not currently have a supply of 86
131		-	opioid antagonists. 87
132		-	(f) (1) For purposes of this section, the fund balance shall be 88
133		-	determined by the State Treasurer as of July first, annually. 89
134		-	(2) Except as permitted by subdivision (8) of subsection (e) of this 90
135		-	section, or unless otherwise required by court order to refund to the 91
136		-	federal government a portion of the proceeds, moneys in the fund shall 92
137		-	be used for prospective purposes and shall not be used to reimburse 93
138		-	expenditures incurred prior to July 1, 2022. 94
139		-	(3) Proceeds derived from any state settlement of claims against a 95
140		-	defendant shall be allocated and disbursed only to those municipalities 96
141		-	that execute an agreement to participate in such settlement and adhere 97
142		-	to the terms of such agreement, provided the allocation or 98
143		-	disbursement of such settlement proceeds for the benefit of persons 99
144		-	within municipalities that do not execute an agreement to participate 100
145		-	in such settlement or do not adhere to the terms of such agreement 101
146		-	shall not be precluded or limited. 102
147		-	(4) Governmental and nonprofit nongovernmental entities shall be 103
148		-	eligible to receive moneys from the fund for programs, services, 104 Bill No. 1163
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	115	+	(9) Documented expenses associated with managing, investing and 76
	116	+	disbursing moneys in the fund; [and] 77
	117	+	(10) Documented expenses, including legal fees, incurred by the state 78
	118	+	or any municipality in securing settlement proceeds deposited in the 79
	119	+	fund to the extent such expenses are not otherwise reimbursed pursuant 80
	120	+	to a fee agreement provided for by the controlling judgment, consent 81
	121	+	decree or settlement; and 82
	122	+	(11) Provision of funds to municipal police departments for the 83
	123	+	purpose of equipping police officers with opioid antagonists, with 84
	124	+	priority given to departments that do not currently have a supply of 85
	125	+	opioid antagonists. 86
	126	+	(f) (1) For purposes of this section, the fund balance shall be 87
	127	+	determined by the State Treasurer as of July first, annually. 88
	128	+	(2) Except as permitted by subdivision (8) of subsection (e) of this 89
	129	+	section, or unless otherwise required by court order to refund to the 90
	130	+	federal government a portion of the proceeds, moneys in the fund shall 91
	131	+	be used for prospective purposes and shall not be used to reimburse 92
	132	+	expenditures incurred prior to July 1, 2022. 93
	133	+	(3) Proceeds derived from any state settlement of claims against a 94
	134	+	defendant shall be allocated and disbursed only to those municipalities 95
	135	+	that execute an agreement to participate in such settlement and adhere 96
	136	+	to the terms of such agreement, provided the allocation or disbursement 97
	137	+	of such settlement proceeds for the benefit of persons within 98
	138	+	municipalities that do not execute an agreement to participate in such 99
	139	+	settlement or do not adhere to the terms of such agreement shall not be 100
	140	+	precluded or limited. 101
	141	+	(4) Governmental and nonprofit nongovernmental entities shall be 102
	142	+	eligible to receive moneys from the fund for programs, services, 103
	143	+	supports and resources for prevention, treatment, recovery and harm 104
	144	+	reduction. 105 Raised Bill No. 1163
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155		-	supports and resources for prevention, treatment, recovery and harm 105
156		-	reduction. 106
157		-	(5) Subject to the provisions of subdivision (6) of this subsection, 107
158		-	fund disbursements shall be made by the commissioner upon approval 108
159		-	of the committee. The commissioner shall not make or refuse to make 109
160		-	any disbursement allowable under this subsection without the 110
161		-	approval of the committee. The commissioner shall adhere to the 111
162		-	committee's decisions regarding disbursement of moneys from the 112
163		-	fund, provided such disbursement is a permissible expenditure under 113
164		-	this section. The commissioner's role in the distribution of moneys 114
165		-	after the distribution has been approved by the committee and after 115
166		-	the review and approval required under subsection (e) of this section 116
167		-	shall be ministerial and shall not be discretionary. 117
168		-	(6) Moneys expended from the fund for the purposes set forth in 118
169		-	subsection (d) of this section shall be supplemental to, and shall not 119
170		-	supplant or take the place of, any other funds, including, but not 120
171		-	limited to, insurance benefits or local, state or federal funding, that 121
172		-	would otherwise have been expended for such purposes. The 122
173		-	commissioner shall not disburse moneys from the fund during any 123
174		-	fiscal year unless the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management 124
175		-	transmits to the committee a letter verifying that funds appropriated 125
176		-	and allocated in such fiscal year's budget for substance use disorder 126
177		-	abatement infrastructure, programs, services, supports and resources 127
178		-	for prevention, treatment, recovery and harm reduction are in an 128
179		-	amount not less than the sum of the funds for such purposes 129
180		-	appropriated and allocated in the previous fiscal year's budget. As 130
181		-	used in this subdivision, "supplemental" means additional funding, 131
182		-	consistent with the provisions of this section, for substance use 132
183		-	disorder abatement infrastructure or a substance use disorder 133
184		-	abatement program, service, support or resource to ensure that 134
185		-	funding in the current fiscal year exceeds the sum of federal, state, and 135
186		-	local funds allocated in the previous fiscal year for such substance use 136
187		-	disorder abatement infrastructure, program, service, support or 137 Bill No. 1163
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	149	+
	150	+	(5) Subject to the provisions of subdivision (6) of this subsection, fund 106
	151	+	disbursements shall be made by the commissioner upon approval of the 107
	152	+	committee. The commissioner shall not make or refuse to make any 108
	153	+	disbursement allowable under this subsection without the approval of 109
	154	+	the committee. The commissioner shall adhere to the committee's 110
	155	+	decisions regarding disbursement of moneys from the fund, provided 111
	156	+	such disbursement is a permissible expenditure under this section. The 112
	157	+	commissioner's role in the distribution of moneys after the distribution 113
	158	+	has been approved by the committee and after the review and approval 114
	159	+	required under subsection (e) of this section shall be ministerial and 115
	160	+	shall not be discretionary. 116
	161	+	(6) Moneys expended from the fund for the purposes set forth in 117
	162	+	subsection (d) of this section shall be supplemental to, and shall not 118
	163	+	supplant or take the place of, any other funds, including, but not limited 119
	164	+	to, insurance benefits or local, state or federal funding, that would 120
	165	+	otherwise have been expended for such purposes. The commissioner 121
	166	+	shall not disburse moneys from the fund during any fiscal year unless 122
	167	+	the Secretary of the Office of Policy and Management transmits to the 123
	168	+	committee a letter verifying that funds appropriated and allocated in 124
	169	+	such fiscal year's budget for substance use disorder abatement 125
	170	+	infrastructure, programs, services, supports and resources for 126
	171	+	prevention, treatment, recovery and harm reduction are in an amount 127
	172	+	not less than the sum of the funds for such purposes appropriated and 128
	173	+	allocated in the previous fiscal year's budget. As used in this 129
	174	+	subdivision, "supplemental" means additional funding, consistent with 130
	175	+	the provisions of this section, for substance use disorder abatement 131
	176	+	infrastructure or a substance use disorder abatement program, service, 132
	177	+	support or resource to ensure that funding in the current fiscal year 133
	178	+	exceeds the sum of federal, state, and local funds allocated in the 134
	179	+	previous fiscal year for such substance use disorder abatement 135
	180	+	infrastructure, program, service, support or resource. 136
	181	+	This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
	182	+	sections:
	183	+	Raised Bill No. 1163
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194		-	resource. 138
195		-	This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
196		-	sections:
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197	188
198	189		Section 1 July 1, 2023 17a-674c
199	190
200		-	PS Joint Favorable
	191	+	Statement of Purpose:
	192	+	To authorize the use of opioid settlement funds to provide municipal
	193	+	police officers with opioid antagonists.
	194	+	[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except
	195	+	that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not
	196	+	underlined.]
201	197