S.B. No. 1827
AN ACT
relating to the creation of the opioid abatement account, an opioid
abatement trust fund, and 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, political subdivisions that
have brought a civil action for an opioid-related harm claim
against an opioid manufacturer, distributor, or retailer, 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 the medical profession with significant experience
in opioid interventions 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)(1), the
executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission
shall appoint members from a list of two qualified candidates
provided by the governing bodies of counties and municipalities
that:
(1) brought a civil action for an opioid-related harm
against a released entity;
(2) released an opioid-related harm claim in a
statewide opioid settlement agreement; and
(3) are located within the regions for which the
member is being appointed.
(d) 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.
(e) 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) A state agency may use money appropriated 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;
(8) address:
(A) the needs of persons involved with criminal
justice; and
(B) rural county unattended deaths; or
(9) further any other purpose related to opioid
abatement authorized by appropriation.
(e) Section 404.071 does not apply to the account.
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. The trust company may authorize
money from the fund to be invested with money from the state
treasury.
(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:
(1) distribute to counties and municipalities 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) allocate 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 as follows:
(A) $5 million of the amount distributed to the
fund to the Texas Access to Justice Foundation to be expended only
on the order of the Supreme Court of Texas for the purpose of
providing basic civil legal services to indigent persons directly
impacted by opioid-use disorders, including children who need basic
civil legal services as a result of opioid-use disorders by a
parent, legal guardian or caretaker; and
(B) the remainder of that 70 percent to the
council.
(d) The trust company shall distribute money allocated
under Subsection (c)(2) at the direction of the council.
(e) The council shall provide to the trust company an annual
forecast of money deposited and withdrawn from the fund and provide
updates to the forecast as appropriate to ensure the trust company
is able to achieve the council's directives.
(f) In investing money from the fund and subject to the
council's direction, the trust company has the same investment
authority with respect to the fund as the comptroller has under
Sections 404.0241(a) and (c) with respect to the economic
stabilization fund.
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. (a) 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 and this subchapter;
(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.
(b) The comptroller may spend money from the fund for
purposes of Subsection (a)(1). If the comptroller determines that
the allocation under that subdivision exceeds the amount that is
reasonable and necessary for the comptroller to administer the
council and this subchapter, the comptroller may reallocate the
excess money in accordance with Subsection (a)(3).
Sec. 403.509. COUNCIL POWERS AND DUTIES AND
COUNCIL-APPROVED OPIOID ABATEMENT STRATEGY. (a) The council
shall:
(1) determine and approve one or more evidence-based
opioid abatement strategies that include:
(A) an annual regional allocation methodology to
distribute 75 percent of money distributed under Section
403.508(a)(3) based on population health information and
prevalence of opioid incidences as provided by law; and
(B) an annual targeted allocation to distribute
25 percent of money distributed under Section 403.508(a)(3) for
targeted interventions as identified by opioid incidence
information;
(2) wholly or partly reallocate the targeted money
between regions if a region for which targeted money is allocated is
unable to use all of the targeted money;
(3) develop an application and award process for
funding;
(4) review grant funding applications and provide
grant awards and funding allocations;
(5) monitor grant agreements authorized by this
subchapter and require each grant recipient to comply with the
terms of the grant agreement or reimburse the grant to the council;
and
(6) determine the percentage of money that may be used
for development of education and outreach programs to provide
materials on the consequences of opioid drug use and prevention and
intervention, including online resources and toolkits.
(b) The council may reallocate money between regions based
on the funding needs of all regions if money allocated to a region
lapses or is not used in the year that the money is allocated for use
in the region.
(c) To approve any decision or 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 decision or 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.
Sec. 403.511. RULEMAKING. The council may adopt rules to
implement this subchapter.
SECTION 2. 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 3. 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 4. 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.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1827 passed the Senate on
April 28, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that
the Senate concurred in House amendments on May 29, 2021, by the
following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1827 passed the House, with
amendments, on May 24, 2021, by the following vote: Yeas 143,
Nays 0, one present not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor