EXPLANATION: CAPITALS INDICATE MAT TER ADDED TO EXISTIN G LAW.
[Brackets] indicate matter deleted from existing law.
Underlining indicates amendments to bill.
Strike out indicates matter stricken from the bill by amendment or deleted from the law by
amendment.
*hb1131*
HOUSE BILL 1131
J1, F2 5lr2053
By: Delegates Vogel and Tomlinson
Introduced and read first time: February 5, 2025
Assigned to: Health and Government Operations
Committee Report: Favorable
House action: Adopted
Read second time: March 1, 2025
CHAPTER ______
AN ACT concerning 1
Public Health – Buprenorphine – Training Grant Program and Workgroup 2
FOR the purpose of establishing the Buprenorphine Training Grant Program to assist 3
counties with offsetting the cost of training paramedics to administer buprenorphine; 4
including the Program as an authorized use of funding from the Opioid Restitution 5
Fund; requiring the Maryland Office of Overdose Response to convene a workgroup 6
to study access to buprenorphine in the State; and generally relating to 7
buprenorphine. 8
BY adding to 9
Article – Health – General 10
Section 13–5501 and 13–5502 to be under the new subtitle “Subtitle 55. 11
Buprenorphine Training Grant Program” 12
Annotated Code of Maryland 13
(2023 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 14
BY repealing and reenacting, without amendments, 15
Article – State Finance and Procurement 16
Section 7–331(a) through (e) 17
Annotated Code of Maryland 18
(2021 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 19
BY repealing and reenacting, with amendments, 20
Article – State Finance and Procurement 21
Section 7–331(f) 22 2 HOUSE BILL 1131
Annotated Code of Maryland 1
(2021 Replacement Volume and 2024 Supplement) 2
SECTION 1. BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF MARYLAND, 3
That the Laws of Maryland read as follows: 4
Article – Health – General 5
SUBTITLE 55. BUPRENORPHINE TRAINING GRANT PROGRAM. 6
13–5501. 7
(A) IN THIS SUBTITLE THE FOLLOWING WORDS HAVE THE MEANINGS 8
INDICATED. 9
(B) “PARAMEDIC” HAS THE MEANING STATED I N § 13–516 OF THE 10
EDUCATION ARTICLE. 11
(C) “PROGRAM” MEANS THE BUPRENORPHINE TRAINING GRANT 12
PROGRAM. 13
13–5502. 14
(A) (1) THERE IS A BUPRENORPHINE TRAINING GRANT PROGRAM IN 15
THE DEPARTMENT . 16
(2) THE PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM IS TO ASSIST A COUNTY WITH 17
OFFSETTING THE COST OF TRAINING PARAMEDI CS TO ADMINISTER 18
BUPRENORPHINE . 19
(B) A COUNTY MAY APPLY TO THE DEPARTMENT FOR A GRANT FROM THE 20
PROGRAM. 21
(C) A COUNTY MAY USE A GRA NT AWARDED UNDER THE PROGRAM ONLY 22
FOR TRAINING PARAMED ICS TO ADMINISTER BUPRENORPHINE . 23
(D) THE GOVERNOR SHALL INCLUDE IN THE ANNUA L BUDGET BILL AN 24
APPROPRIATION OF AT LEAST $50,000 FROM THE OPIOID RESTITUTION FUND FOR 25
THE PROGRAM. 26
Article – State Finance and Procurement 27
7–331. 28
(a) In this section, “Fund” means the Opioid Restitution Fund. 29 HOUSE BILL 1131 3
(b) There is an Opioid Restitution Fund. 1
(c) The purpose of the Fund is to retain the amount of settlement revenues 2
deposited to the Fund in accordance with subsection (e)(1) of this section. 3
(d) (1) The Fund is a special, nonlapsing fund that is not subject to § 7–302 of 4
this subtitle. 5
(2) The State Treasurer shall hold the Fund separately, and the 6
Comptroller shall account for the Fund. 7
(e) The Fund consists of: 8
(1) all revenues received by the State from any source resulting, directly or 9
indirectly, from any judgment against, or settlement with, opioid manufacturers, opioid 10
research associations, or any other person in the opioid industry relating to any claims 11
made or prosecuted by the State to recover damages for violations of State law; and 12
(2) the interest earnings of the Fund. 13
(f) The Fund may be used only to provide funds for: 14
(1) programs, services, supports, and resources for evidence–based 15
substance use disorder prevention, treatment, recovery, or harm reduction that have the 16
purpose of: 17
(i) improving access to medications proven to prevent or reverse an 18
overdose, including by supporting the initiative to co–locate naloxone with automated 19
external defibrillators placed in public buildings under § 13–518 of the Education Article; 20
(ii) supporting peer support specialists and screening, brief 21
intervention, and referral to treatment services for hospitals, correctional facilities, and 22
other high–risk populations; 23
(iii) increasing access to medications that support recovery from 24
substance use disorders; 25
(iv) expanding the Heroin Coordinator Program, including for 26
administrative expenses; 27
(v) expanding access to crisis beds and residential treatment 28
services for adults and minors; 29
(vi) expanding and establishing safe stations, mobile crisis response 30
systems, and crisis stabilization centers; 31
4 HOUSE BILL 1131
(vii) supporting the behavioral health crisis hotline; 1
(viii) organizing primary and secondary school education campaigns 2
to prevent opioid use, including for administrative expenses; 3
(ix) enforcing the laws regarding opioid prescriptions and sales, 4
including for administrative expenses; 5
(x) research regarding and training for substance use treatment and 6
overdose prevention, including for administrative expenses; and 7
(xi) supporting and expanding other evidence–based interventions 8
for overdose prevention and substance use treatment; 9
(2) supporting community–based nonprofit recovery organizations that 10
provide nonclinical substance use recovery support services in the State; 11
(3) evidence–informed substance use disorder prevention, treatment 12
recovery, or harm reduction pilot programs or demonstration studies that are not 13
evidence–based if the Opioid Restitution Fund Advisory Council, established under § 14
7.5–902 of the Health – General Article: 15
(i) determines that emerging evidence supports the distribution of 16
money for the pilot program or that there is a reasonable b asis for funding the 17
demonstration study with the expectation of creating an evidence–based program; and 18
(ii) approves the use of money for the pilot program or demonstration 19
study; [and] 20
(4) evaluations of the effectiveness and outcomes reporting for substance 21
use disorder abatement infrastructure, programs, services, supports, and resources for 22
which money from the Fund was used, including evaluations of the impact on access to 23
harm reduction services or treatment for substance use disorders and the reduction in 24
drug–related mortality; AND 25
(5) THE BUPRENORPHINE TRAINING GRANT PROGRAM 26
ESTABLISHED UNDER § 13–5502 OF THE HEALTH – GENERAL ARTICLE. 27
SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That: 28
(a) The Maryland Office of Overdose Response shall convene a workgroup to 29
study access to buprenorphine in the State. 30
(b) The workgroup shall include: 31
(1) one member of the Senate of Maryland, appointed by the President of 32
the Senate; 33 HOUSE BILL 1131 5
(2) one member of the House of Delegates, appointed by the Speaker of the 1
House; and 2
(3) representatives of: 3
(i) the Maryland Institute of Emergency Medical Services Systems; 4
(ii) the Behavioral Health Administration; 5
(iii) hospitals; 6
(iv) local behavioral health agencies; and 7
(v) the Maryland Association of Counties. 8
(c) The workgroup shall examine: 9
(1) how buprenorphine services are offered in the State; 10
(2) the capacity of providers to provide buprenorphine; 11
(3) any geographic areas where significant gaps in buprenorphine services 12
may exist; 13
(4) the feasibility of financial support for a long–term expansion of 14
buprenorphine services; 15
(5) a plan for ongoing data collection for the purpose of the monitoring and 16
improvement of buprenorphine services; 17
(6) how to effectively grow a hub–and–spoke model to ensure access to 18
buprenorphine in the State; and 19
(7) any other strategies that would improve buprenorphine services in the 20
State. 21
(d) On or before December 31, 2025, the Maryland Office of Overdose Response 22
shall submit a report on the findings and recommendations of the workgroup, including the 23
need for any statutory changes, to the Governor and, in accordance with § 2–1257 of the 24
State Government Article, the Senate Finance Committee and the House Health and 25
Government Operations Committee. 26
SECTION 3. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That Section 1 of this Act shall take 27
effect October 1, 2025. Section 1 of this Act shall remain in effect for a period of 5 years and, 28
at the end of September 30, 2030, Section 1 of this Act, with no further action required by 29
the General Assembly, shall be abrogated and of no further force and effect. 30 6 HOUSE BILL 1131
SECTION 4. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That , except as provided in Section 1
3 of this Act, this Act shall take effect July 1, 2025. Section 2 of this Act shall remain 2
effective for a period of 1 year and, at the end of June 30, 2026, Section 2 of this Act, with 3
no further action required by the General Assembly, shall be abrogated and of no further 4
force and effect. 5
Approved:
________________________________________________________________________________
Governor.
________________________________________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Delegates.
________________________________________________________________________________
President of the Senate.