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Kansas House Bill HB2159

Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

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11 Session of 2025
22 HOUSE BILL No. 2159
33 By Representatives Proctor and Hoheisel
44 1-30
55 AN ACT concerning law enforcement; relating to emergency opioid
66 antagonists; creating the emergency opioid antagonists assistance grant
77 fund to assist law enforcement agencies with purchasing emergency
88 opioid antagonists; maintaining immunity for law enforcement agencies
99 and officers for damages resulting from administering an emergency
1010 opioid antagonist; removing law enforcement agencies and officers
1111 from the state board of pharmacy's statewide opioid antagonist
1212 protocol; amending K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 65-16,127 and repealing the
1313 existing section.
1414 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
1515 New Section 1. (a) There is hereby established in the state treasury
1616 the emergency opioid antagonists assistance grant fund, to be administered
1717 by the attorney general. All moneys credited to the fund shall be for
1818 providing assistance to law enforcement agencies across the state in
1919 purchasing emergency opioid antagonists.
2020 (2) All expenditures from the emergency opioid antagonists
2121 assistance account grant fund shall be made in accordance with
2222 appropriation acts upon warrants of the director of accounts and reports
2323 issued pursuant to vouchers approved by the attorney general or the
2424 attorney general's designee.
2525 (c) The attorney general shall develop and implement the emergency
2626 opioid antagonists assistance grant program with the goal of providing
2727 assistance to law enforcement agencies across the state in purchasing
2828 emergency opioid antagonists for law enforcement officers to carry while
2929 such officers are on duty. Prioritization of emergency opioid antagonists
3030 assistance grant fund moneys shall be given to small law enforcement
3131 agencies. Only a law enforcement agency that has adopted a policy
3232 requiring the administration of emergency opioid antagonists shall be
3333 eligible to receive a grant pursuant to this subsection.
3434 (d) On July 1, 2025, and on July 1 of each year thereafter, the director
3535 of accounts and reports shall transfer $4,000,000 from the state general
3636 fund to the emergency opioid antagonist assistance grant fund.
3737 Sec. 2. K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 65-16,127 is hereby amended to read as
3838 follows: 65-16,127. (a) As used in this section:
3939 (1) "Bystander" means a family member, friend, caregiver or other
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7676 person in a position to assist a person who the family member, friend,
7777 caregiver or other person believes, in good faith, to be experiencing an
7878 opioid overdose.
7979 (2) "Emergency opioid antagonist" means any drug that inhibits the
8080 effects of opioids and that is approved by the United States food and drug
8181 administration for the treatment of an opioid overdose.
8282 (3) (A) "First responder" includes any emergency medical service
8383 provider, as defined by K.S.A. 65-6112, and amendments thereto, any law
8484 enforcement officer, as defined by K.S.A. 22-2202, and amendments
8585 thereto, and any actual member of any organized fire department, whether
8686 regular or volunteer.
8787 (B) "First responder" does not include any law enforcement officer,
8888 as defined in K.S.A. 22-2202, and amendments thereto.
8989 (4) (A) "First responder agency" includes, but is not limited to, any
9090 law enforcement agency, fire department or criminal forensic laboratory of
9191 any city, county or the state of Kansas.
9292 (B) "First responder agency" does not include any law enforcement
9393 agency.
9494 (5) "Opioid antagonist protocol" means the protocol established by
9595 the state board of pharmacy pursuant to subsection (b).
9696 (6) "Opioid overdose" means an acute condition including, but not
9797 limited to, extreme physical illness, decreased level of consciousness,
9898 respiratory depression, coma, mania or death, resulting from the
9999 consumption or use of an opioid or another substance with which an
100100 opioid was combined, or that a layperson would reasonably believe to be
101101 resulting from the consumption or use of an opioid or another substance
102102 with which an opioid was combined, and for which medical assistance is
103103 required.
104104 (7) "Patient" means a person believed to be at risk of experiencing an
105105 opioid overdose.
106106 (8) "School nurse" means a professional nurse licensed by the board
107107 of nursing and employed by a school district to perform nursing
108108 procedures in a school setting.
109109 (9) "Healthcare provider" means a physician licensed to practice
110110 medicine and surgery by the state board of healing arts, a licensed dentist,
111111 a mid-level practitioner as defined by K.S.A. 65-1626, and amendments
112112 thereto, or any person authorized by law to prescribe medication.
113113 (b) The state board of pharmacy shall issue a statewide opioid
114114 antagonist protocol that establishes requirements for a licensed pharmacist
115115 to dispense emergency opioid antagonists to a person pursuant to this
116116 section. The opioid antagonist protocol shall include procedures to ensure
117117 accurate recordkeeping and education of the person to whom the
118118 emergency opioid antagonist is furnished, including, but not limited to:
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162162 Opioid overdose prevention, recognition and response; safe administration
163163 of an emergency opioid antagonist; potential side effects or adverse events
164164 that may occur as a result of administering an emergency opioid
165165 antagonist; a requirement that the administering person immediately
166166 contact emergency medical services for a patient; and the availability of
167167 drug treatment programs.
168168 (c) A pharmacist may furnish an emergency opioid antagonist to a
169169 patient or bystander subject to the requirements of this section, the
170170 pharmacy act of the state of Kansas and any rules and regulations adopted
171171 by the state board of pharmacy thereunder.
172172 (d) A pharmacist furnishing an emergency opioid antagonist pursuant
173173 to this section may not permit the person to whom the emergency opioid
174174 antagonist is furnished to waive any consultation required by this section
175175 or any rules and regulations adopted thereunder.
176176 (e) Any first responder, scientist or technician operating under a first
177177 responder agency or school nurse is authorized to possess, store, distribute
178178 and administer emergency opioid antagonists as clinically indicated,
179179 provided that all personnel with access to emergency opioid antagonists
180180 are trained, at a minimum, on the following:
181181 (1) Techniques to recognize signs of an opioid overdose;
182182 (2) standards and procedures to store, distribute and administer an
183183 emergency opioid antagonist;
184184 (3) emergency follow-up procedures, including the requirement to
185185 summon emergency ambulance services either immediately before or
186186 immediately after administering an emergency opioid antagonist to a
187187 patient; and
188188 (4) inventory requirements and reporting any administration of an
189189 emergency opioid antagonist to a healthcare provider.
190190 (f) (1) Any first responder agency electing to provide an emergency
191191 opioid antagonist to its employees or volunteers for the purpose of
192192 administering the emergency opioid antagonist shall procure the services
193193 of a physician to serve as physician medical director for the first responder
194194 agency's emergency opioid antagonist program.
195195 (2) The first responder agency shall utilize the physician medical
196196 director or a licensed pharmacist for the purposes of:
197197 (A) Obtaining a supply of emergency opioid antagonists;
198198 (B) receiving assistance developing necessary policies and
199199 procedures that comply with this section and any rules and regulations
200200 adopted thereunder;
201201 (C) training personnel; and
202202 (D) coordinating agency activities with local emergency ambulance
203203 services and medical directors to provide quality assurance activities.
204204 (g) (1) Any healthcare provider or pharmacist who, in good faith and
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248248 with reasonable care, prescribes or dispenses an emergency opioid
249249 antagonist pursuant to this section shall not, by an act or omission, be
250250 subject to civil liability, criminal prosecution or any disciplinary or other
251251 adverse action by a professional licensure entity arising from the
252252 healthcare provider or pharmacist prescribing or dispensing the emergency
253253 opioid antagonist.
254254 (2) Any patient, bystander, school nurse, or a first responder, scientist
255255 or technician operating under a first responder agency, who, in good faith
256256 and with reasonable care, receives and administers an emergency opioid
257257 antagonist pursuant to this section to a person experiencing a suspected
258258 opioid overdose shall not, by an act or omission, be subject to civil liability
259259 or criminal prosecution, unless personal injury results from the gross
260260 negligence or willful or wanton misconduct in the administration of the
261261 emergency opioid antagonist.
262262 (3) Any first responder agency employing or contracting any person
263263 that, in good faith and with reasonable care, administers an emergency
264264 opioid antagonist pursuant to this section to a person experiencing a
265265 suspected opioid overdose shall not, by an act or omission, be subject to
266266 civil liability, criminal prosecution, any disciplinary or other adverse
267267 action by a professional licensure entity or any professional review.
268268 (4) Any law enforcement officer, as defined in K.S.A. 22-2202, and
269269 amendments thereto, or law enforcement agency employing or contracting
270270 with any person who, in good faith and with reasonable care, administers
271271 an emergency opioid antagonist to a person experiencing a suspected
272272 opioid overdose shall not, by an act or omission, be subject to civil
273273 liability, criminal prosecution, any disciplinary or other adverse action by
274274 a professional licensure entity or any professional review.
275275 (h) The state board of pharmacy shall adopt rules and regulations as
276276 may be necessary to implement the provisions of this section prior to
277277 January 1, 2018.
278278 (i) This section shall be a part of and supplemental to the pharmacy
279279 act of the state of Kansas.
280280 Sec. 3. K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 65-16,127 is hereby repealed.
281281 Sec. 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
282282 publication in the statute book.
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