N.Y. MHY Law § 25.18 — New York Code / Act MHY / Title D / Article 25 / Section 25.18
Statewide opioid settlements
Status: in_force

§ 25.18 Statewide opioid settlements.\n  (a) Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall\nhave the following meanings: 1. Eligible expenditures shall include\nservices and programs that are consistent with the approved uses and\nterms of the statewide opioid settlement agreement as defined in this\nsection, which may only include:\n  (i) to prevent substance use disorders through an evidence-based\nyouth-focused public health education and prevention campaign, including\nschool-based prevention and health care services and programs to reduce\nthe risk of substance use by school-aged children;\n  (ii) to develop and implement statewide public education campaigns to\nreduce stigma against individuals with a substance use disorder, provide\ninformation about the risks of substance use, best practices for\naddressing substance use disorders, and information on how to locate\nservices that reduce the adverse health consequences associated with\nsubstance use disorders or provide treatment for substance use\ndisorders;\n  (iii) to provide substance use disorder treatment and early recovery\nprograms for youth and adults, with an emphasis on programs that provide\na continuum of care that includes screening and assessment for substance\nuse disorders and co-occurring disorders, active treatment, family\ninvolvement, case management, relapse management for substance use and\nother co-occurring behavioral health disorders, vocational services,\nliteracy services, parenting classes, family therapy and counseling\nservices, crisis services, recovery services, evidence-based treatments,\nmedication-assisted treatments, including medication assisted treatment\nprovided in correctional facilities, psychiatric medication,\npsychotherapy and transitional services programs;\n  (iv) to provide harm reduction counseling and services to reduce the\nadverse health consequences associated with substance use disorders,\nincluding overdose prevention and prevention of communicable diseases\nrelated to substance use, provided by a substance use disorder service\nprovider or qualified community-based organization;\n  (v) to provide housing services for people who are recovering from a\nsubstance use disorder. Such housing services shall be appropriate,\nbased on the individual's current need and stage of recovery. Such\nhousing services may include but are not limited to supportive housing\nservices;\n  (vi) to support community-based programs that reduce the likelihood of\ncriminal justice involvement for individuals who have or are at risk of\nhaving a substance use disorder;\n  (vii) to provide programs for pregnant women and new parents who\ncurrently or formerly have had a substance use disorder and newborns\nwith neonatal abstinence syndrome; and/or\n  (viii) to provide vocational and educational training for individuals\nwith or at risk for a substance use disorder.\n  2. "Government entity" means (i) departments, agencies, divisions,\nboards, commissions and/or instrumentalities of the state of New York,\nexcluding the department of financial services, provided however, the\ndepartment of financial services shall be considered a government entity\nfor purposes of claims or proceedings filed by it against Johnson &\nJohnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Ortho-McNeil-Janssen\nPharmaceuticals, Inc., and/or Janssen Pharmaceutica, Inc.; the\nsuperintendent of the department of financial services; and the\ndepartment of law; and\n  (ii) any governmental subdivision within the boundaries of the state\nof New York, including, but not limited to, counties, municipalities,\ndistricts, towns and/or villages, and any of their subdivisions, special\ndistricts and school districts, and any department, agency, division,\nboard, commission and/or instrumentality thereof.\n  3. "Participating entities" means participating entities as such term\nis defined in any statewide opioid settlement agreement.\n  4. "Opioid settlement fund" means the fund created by section\nninety-nine-nn of the state finance law, the funds of which shall be\nused or distributed by the commissioners, as authorized by the\nlegislature by statute or appropriation, for the purposes of preventing\naddiction and reducing the harms caused by the overdose and substance\nuse disorder epidemic consistent with the terms of any statewide opioid\nsettlement agreement.\n  5. "Released claims" means released claims as such term is defined in\nthe statewide opioid settlement agreements.\n  6. "Released entities" means released entities as such term is defined\nin the statewide opioid settlement agreements.\n  7. "New York subdivisions" means each county, city, town, village, or\nspecial district in the state of New York.\n  8. "Statewide opioid settlement agreements" means agreements of\nstatewide applicability entered into on or after June first, two\nthousand twenty-one by the office of the attorney general, including but\nnot limited to consent judgments, consent decrees filed or unfiled, and\nrelated agreements or documents between the state and any party, the\npurpose of which is to resolve claims for conduct related to the\nmanufacture, promotion, dispensing, sale, overutilization and/or\ndistribution of opioid products which are consistent with subdivision\nsixteen of section sixty-three of the executive law. Copies of such\nagreements, including any amendments thereto, shall be kept on file by\nthe attorney general, who shall make such available for inspection and\ncopying pursuant to the provisions of article six of the public officers\nlaw.\n  (b) Eligible expenditures for opioid settlement funds. 1. The\nlegislature shall appropriate funds to be used for eligible expenditures\nthat are consistent with the approved uses and terms of the statewide\nopioid settlement agreement. Such expenditures shall be distributed\nregionally and in accordance with the statewide opioid settlement\nagreements to ensure adequate geographic disbursement across the state.\n  2. New York subdivisions may apply to the appropriate agency for\nfunding for eligible expenditures consistent with the terms of any\nstatewide opioid settlement agreement. Any New York subdivision which\nreceives funding pursuant to this section shall be required to annually\ncertify to the appropriate state agency in which funding was received\nthat such New York subdivision is utilizing such funds in accordance\nwith the requirements of this section and section ninety-nine-nn of the\nstate finance law.\n  3. Each New York subdivision shall provide a detailed accounting of\nhow the funds were used as well as an analysis and evaluation of the\nservices and programs funded. Such information shall be included in the\nreport provided pursuant to paragraph ten of subdivision (c) of this\nsection.\n  (c) Advisory board establishment and responsibilities. 1. The opioid\nsettlement board is hereby established under the office of addiction\nservices and supports to provide recommendations on how funding received\nby the opioid settlement fund pursuant to section ninety-nine-nn of the\nstate finance law shall be allocated by the legislature. Recommendations\nshall be evidence-based and may take into consideration federal, state\nor local initiatives and activities that have shown to be effective in\npreventing and treating substance use disorders as well as maintaining\nrecovery and assisting with the collateral effects of substance use\ndisorders for individuals and their families or support system. Such\nrecommendations shall also take into account any gaps in access to\nservices or programs identified as eligible expenditures and incorporate\nmechanisms for measurable outcomes for determining the effectiveness of\nfunds expended. The office and any other relevant agency that provides\nor regulates eligible expenditures shall provide any necessary staff,\nresources and technical assistance to assist with the functions of the\nadvisory board. Such assistance shall be supported pursuant to an\nappropriation by the legislature, in accordance with the statewide\nopioid settlement agreements.\n  2. The opioid settlement board may make recommendations to the\nlegislature and the governor regarding the addition or removal of any\neligible expenditures in response to changing substance use disorder\nneeds in the state. No recommendation may be made to remove an eligible\nexpenditure without three-fourths approval of present board members.\n  3. The opioid settlement board shall consist of twenty-one members\nappointed as follows:\n  (i) the commissioner of addiction services and supports, the\ncommissioner of mental health, the commissioner of health, and the\ndirector of the division of budget, or their designees;\n  (ii) two appointments by the governor;\n  (iii) three appointments by the temporary president of the senate;\n  (iv) three appointments by the speaker of the assembly;\n  (v) one appointments by the attorney general;\n  (vi) one appointment by the mayor of the city of New York; and\n  (vii) seven appointments from a list of nominees submitted, pursuant\nto a statewide opioid settlement agreement, by an association of\ncounties that represents at least ninety percent of the counties in New\nYork, counting both by number of counties and by population at the time\nsuch statewide opioid settlement agreement was finalized. Such\nappointments shall be selected as follows: three from the governor, one\nfrom the temporary president of the senate, one from the speaker of the\nassembly, one from the minority leader of the senate and one from the\nminority leader of the assembly.\n  4. Each member shall be appointed to serve three-year terms and in the\nevent of a vacancy, the vacancy shall be filled in the manner of the\noriginal appointment for the remainder of the term. The appointed\nmembers and commissioners shall receive no compensation for their\nservices but shall be allowed their actual and necessary expenses\nincurred in the performance of their duties as board members.\n  5. Every effort shall be made to ensure a balanced and diverse board,\nrepresenting the geographic regions and racial and ethnic demographics\nof the state as well as those with lived experiences of a substance use\ndisorder. Appointed members shall have an expertise in public and\nbehavioral health, substance use disorder treatment, harm reduction,\ncriminal justice, public finance, or drug policy. Further, the board\nshall include individuals with personal or professional experience with\nsubstance use and addiction issues and co-occurring mental illnesses as\nwell as providing services to those that have been disproportionately\nimpacted by the enforcement and criminalization of addiction.\n  6. The chairperson of the board and the vice chairperson shall be\nelected from among the members of the board by the members of such\nboard. The vice chairperson shall represent the board in the absence of\nthe chairperson at all official board functions. A majority of the\nvoting members of the board shall constitute a quorum.\n  7. Members of the board shall not take any action to direct funding\nfrom the opioid settlement fund to any entity in which they or their\nfamily members have any interest, direct or indirect, or receive any\ncommission or profit whatsoever, direct or indirect. Members of the\nboard shall recuse themselves from any discussion or vote relating to\nsuch interest.\n  8. The board shall meet at least quarterly, to ensure recommendations\nare updated and consistent with the needs of the state. Such meetings\nshall be held in accordance with article seven of the public officers\nlaw and pursuant to the federal americans with disabilities act of\nnineteen hundred ninety, as amended.\n  9. On or before November first of each year, beginning November first,\ntwo thousand twenty-one, the board shall provide their recommendations\nfor how such funds shall be appropriated, consistent with the\nrequirements of this section and section ninety-nine-nn of the state\nfinance law. Such recommendations shall be provided in a written report\nto the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of\nthe assembly, the chair of the senate finance committee, the chair of\nthe assembly ways and means committee, the chair of the senate\nalcoholism and substance abuse committee and the chair of the assembly\nalcoholism and drug abuse committee.\n  10. On or before November first of each year, beginning one year after\nthe initial deposit of monies in the opioid settlement fund, the\nrelevant commissioners shall provide a written report to the governor,\ntemporary president of the senate, speaker of the assembly, chair of the\nsenate finance committee, chair of the assembly ways and means\ncommittee, chair of the senate alcoholism and substance use disorders\ncommittee, chair of the assembly alcoholism and drug abuse committee,\nand the opioid settlement advisory board. Such report shall be presented\nas a consolidated dashboard and be made publicly available on the\nrespective offices' websites. The report shall, to the extent\npracticable after making all diligent efforts to obtain such\ninformation, include the following: (i) the baseline funding for any\nentity that receives funding from the opioid settlement fund, prior to\nthe receipt of such funds; (ii) how funds deposited in the opioid\nsettlement fund had been utilized in the preceding calendar year,\nincluding but not limited to: (A) the amount of money disbursed and the\naward process used for such disbursement, if applicable; (B) the names\nof the recipients, the amounts awarded to such recipient and details\nabout the purpose such funds were awarded for, including what specific\nservices and programs the funds were used on and what populations such\nservices or programs served; (C) the main criteria utilized to determine\nthe award, including how the program or service assists to reduce the\neffects of substance use disorders; (D) an analysis of the effectiveness\nof the services and/or programs that received opioid settlement funding\nin their efforts to reduce the effects of the overdose and substance use\ndisorder epidemic. Such analysis shall utilize evidence-based uniform\nmetrics when reviewing the effects the service and/or program had on\nprevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery advancements; (E)\nany relevant information provided by the New York subdivisions pursuant\nto this section; and (F) any other information the commissioner deems\nnecessary to help inform future appropriations and funding decisions,\nand ensure such funding is not being used to supplant local, state, or\nfederal funding.\n  (c-1) On or before November first of each year, any New York\nsubdivision that directly received funds pursuant to a statewide opioid\nsettlement agreement shall publicly post on their website information\nregarding how such funding was utilized and shall submit such\ninformation to the office of addiction services and supports. Such\ninformation shall be updated on an annual basis. The office of addiction\nservices and supports shall re-post such information on its website.\n  (d) Limitation on authority of government entities to bring lawsuits.\nNo government entity shall have the authority to assert released claims\nagainst entities released by the department of law in a statewide opioid\nsettlement agreement executed by the department of law and the released\nparty on or after June first, two thousand twenty-one. Any action filed\nby a government entity after June thirtieth, two thousand nineteen\nasserting released claims against a released party in a statewide opioid\nsettlement agreement, shall be extinguished by operation of law upon\nbeing released pursuant to such statewide opioid settlement agreement.\n