By: Huffman, Nelson S.B. No. 1827
West
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the creation of the opioid abatement account, an opioid
abatement trust fund, and to 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 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 are physicians 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), 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.
(d) 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) The comptroller may use money appropriated to the
comptroller 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; or
(8) further any other purpose related to opioid
abatement authorized by appropriation.
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.
(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 allocate:
(1) to political subdivisions 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) to the council 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.
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. 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;
(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.
Sec. 403.509. COUNCIL-APPROVED OPIOID ABATEMENT STRATEGY.
(a) The council shall determine and approve one or more
evidence-based opioid abatement strategies for providing money
under Section 403.508(3).
(b) To approve an opioid abatement 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 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.
SECTION 2. Title 6, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 150F to read as follows:
CHAPTER 150F. RELEASE OF CERTAIN CLAIMS BY GOVERNMENTAL ENTITIES
Sec. 150F.001. CLAIMS RELEASED IN STATEWIDE OPIOID
SETTLEMENT. (a) A governmental entity may not bring an action
asserting a claim that was released under a statewide opioid
settlement agreement entered into by the attorney general.
(b) A court shall dismiss with prejudice a pending action
asserting a released claim described by Subsection (a) brought by a
governmental entity.
SECTION 3. 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 4. 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 5. 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.