ENROLLED
ACT No. 88
2017 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 490
BY REPRESENTATIVES LEGER, BAGNERIS, AND HOFFMANN AND SENATORS
BARROW, COLOMB, MILLS, AND THOMPSON
1 AN ACT
2 To enact R.S. 49:219.5, relative to the Drug Policy Board's Advisory Council on Heroin and
3 Opioid Prevention and Education; to establish the Advisory Council on Heroin and
4 Opioid Prevention and Education within the Drug Policy Board; to provide for the
5 membership, powers, and duties of the council; to require an Interagency Heroin and
6 Opioid Coordination Plan; to provide for the content of the plan; to require staffing
7 support for the council; to provide for meetings and official actions of the council;
8 and to provide for related matters.
9 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
10 Section 1. R.S. 49:219.5 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
11 ยง219.5. Advisory Council on Heroin and Opioid Prevention and Education
12 A. The Drug Policy Board shall establish an Advisory Council on Heroin
13 and Opioid Prevention and Education to coordinate resources and expertise to assist
14 in a statewide response.
15 B. The council shall consist of the following members:
16 (1) The secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health or his designee.
17 (2) The secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services or his
18 designee.
19 (3) The state superintendent of education or his designee.
20 (4) The secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections or his
21 designee.
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1 (5) The superintendent of state police or his designee.
2 (6) The commissioner of higher education or his designee.
3 (7) The secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs or his designee.
4 (8) The executive director of the Louisiana Workforce Commission or his
5 designee.
6 (9) The president of the Senate or his designee.
7 (10) The speaker of the House of Representatives or his designee.
8 (11) The attorney general or his designee.
9 (12) The commissioner of insurance or his designee.
10 (13) A judge from a drug division of a district court appointed by the chief
11 justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court.
12 C. The council may engage and solicit, as necessary, input,
13 recommendations, and guidance pertaining to heroin and opioid prevention and
14 education from interested parties and stakeholders, including but not limited to the
15 following:
16 (1) The Louisiana Board of Pharmacy.
17 (2) The Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners.
18 (3) The Louisiana Sheriffs' Association.
19 (4) The Louisiana District Attorneys Association.
20 (5) The Louisiana State Medical Society.
21 (6) The Chiropractic Association of Louisiana.
22 (7) The Louisiana Physical Therapy Association.
23 (8) The Louisiana Association of Chiefs of Police.
24 (9) The Louisiana Independent Pharmacies Association.
25 (10) The Louisiana State Nurses Association.
26 (11) The Louisiana Association of Nurse Practitioners.
27 (12) The Louisiana Ambulance Alliance.
28 (13) The Louisiana State Board of Nursing.
29 (14) The Louisiana Psychiatric Medical Association.
30 (15) The Louisiana Poison Control Center.
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1 (16) The Louisiana-Mississippi Hospice and Palliative Care Organization.
2 (17) The Optometry Association of Louisiana.
3 (18) The Louisiana Association of Health Plans.
4 (19) The Louisiana State Coroners Association.
5 D.(1) The council shall serve in an advisory capacity to the board and
6 establish an Interagency Heroin and Opioid Coordination Plan.
7 (2) The plan shall include but not be limited to all of the following:
8 (a) Parish-level data on opioid overdoses and the dispensing of
9 overdose-reversal medication.
10 (b) Progress of current initiatives in the state relating to the heroin and opioid
11 epidemic.
12 (c) Specific impacts to agencies in addressing education, treatment including
13 the use of medication-assisted treatment, prevention, overdose, and recovery.
14 E. The Interagency Heroin and Opioid Coordination Plan shall be submitted
15 annually to the board, governor, president of the Senate, speaker of the House, and
16 chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court at the end of each calendar year.
17 F. The council shall coordinate parish-level data on opioid overdoses and
18 usage of overdose-reversal medication as current and accurate statewide data is
19 critical in educating both those involved in policy development and the citizens of
20 this state.
21 G. The council shall also coordinate a central online location to disseminate
22 information and resources, including the Interagency Heroin and Opioid
23 Coordination Plan.
24 H. The secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health, or his designee,
25 shall serve as chairman of the council. The council may also elect a vice chairman
26 and other officers as they may deem appropriate.
27 I. A majority of the voting membership of the council shall constitute a
28 quorum for the transaction of business. All official actions of the council shall
29 require the affirmative vote of not less than a majority of the members present.
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1 J. Council members shall not receive compensation or a per diem for their
2 services or attendance at council meetings, except for those travel-related expenses
3 already provided for by their agency.
4 K. The council shall be domiciled in East Baton Rouge Parish.
5 L. Each department participating on the council shall assist as needed in
6 providing staff support for the council, including but not limited to the scheduling
7 of meetings, providing public notice of scheduled meetings, and posting information
8 about the council and its meeting minutes online.
9 M. The council shall meet at least once every quarter, with meetings to be
10 called by the chair.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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