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