By: Huffman, Nelson S.B. No. 1827
 
 
 
   
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the creation of the opioid abatement account.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter G, Chapter 403, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Section 403.1044 to read as follows:
         Sec. 403.1044.  OPIOID ABATEMENT ACCOUNT.  (a)  The opioid
  abatement account is a dedicated account in the general revenue
  fund.
         (b)  The account is composed of:
               (1)  money received by the state from any 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;
               (2)  money appropriated or transferred to the account
  by the legislature;
               (3)  gifts and grants contributed to the account; and
               (4)  earnings on the principal of the account.
         (c)  Money in the account may be appropriated only to a state
  agency for the abatement of opiod-related harms.
         (d)  A state agency may use money appropriated to the agency
  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 opiod 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 access to patients suffering from opioid
  dependence 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; and
               (6)  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.
         SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.