88R15237 JSC-D
 
  By: Talarico H.B. No. 4801
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the use of the money in the Opioid Abatement Account.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 403.505(d), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (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)  purchase opioid antagonists in bulk from
  manufacturers to decrease the price burden on organizations
  distributing opioid antagonists to respond to opioid overdoses; or
               (10)  further any other purpose related to opioid
  abatement authorized by appropriation.
         SECTION 2.  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, 2023.