I 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 4288 
To provide certain protections from civil liability with respect to the emergency 
administration of opioid overdose drugs. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MARCH 24, 2014 
Mr. NEAL introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on the Judiciary 
A BILL 
To provide certain protections from civil liability with respect 
to the emergency administration of opioid overdose drugs. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Opioid Overdose Re-
duction Act of 2014’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 
(1) Overdoses from opioids have increased dra-
matically in the United States. 
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(2) Deaths from drug overdose, largely from 
prescription pain relievers, have tripled among men 
and increased fivefold among women over the past 
decade. 
(3) Nationwide, drug overdoses now claim more 
lives than car accidents. 
(4) Death from heroin and other opioid 
overdoses can be prevented if the person who 
overdosed is timely administered an opioid overdose 
drug. 
(5) Medical personnel as well as non-medical 
personnel can be trained to administer opioid over-
dose drugs safely and effectively. 
(6) Several States, including Massachusetts, 
have established programs allowing for the adminis-
tration of opioid overdose drugs by non-medical per-
sonnel, and those programs have saved lives. 
(7) The willingness of medical and non-medical 
personnel to administer opioid overdose drugs may 
be deterred by potential civil liability, and the will-
ingness of physicians to prescribe opioid overdose 
drugs to persons other than a patient may also be 
deterred by potential civil liability. 
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to save 
the lives of people who intentionally or inadvertently over-
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dose on heroin or other opioids by providing certain pro-
tections from civil liability with respect to the emergency 
administration of opioid overdose drugs. 
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act— 
(1) the term ‘‘health care professional’’ means 
a person licensed by a State to prescribe prescription 
drugs; 
(2) the term ‘‘opioid overdose drug’’ means a 
drug that, when administered, reverses in whole or 
part the pharmacological effects of an opioid over-
dose in the human body; and 
(3) the term ‘‘opioid overdose program’’ means 
a Federal, State, or local agency program or a pro-
gram funded by a Federal, State, or local govern-
ment that works to prevent opioid overdoses by, in 
part, providing opioid overdose drugs and education 
to individuals at risk of experiencing an opioid over-
dose or to a family member, friend, or other indi-
vidual in a position to assist an individual at risk of 
experiencing an opioid overdose. 
SEC. 4. PREEMPTION AND ELECTION OF STATE NON-
APPLICABILITY. 
(a) PREEMPTION.—Except as provided in subsection 
(b), this Act preempts the law of a State to the extent 
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that such law is inconsistent with this Act, except that 
this Act shall not preempt any State law that provides 
additional protection from liability relating to the adminis-
tration of opioid overdose drugs or that shields from liabil-
ity any person who provides or administers opioid overdose 
drugs. 
(b) ELECTION OF STATE REGARDING NONAPPLICA-
BILITY.—Sections 5, 6, and 7 shall not apply to any civil 
action in a State court against a person who administers 
opioid overdose drugs if— 
(1) all parties to the civil action are citizens of 
the State in which such action is brought; and 
(2) the State enacts legislation in accordance 
with State requirements for enacting legislation— 
(A) citing the authority of this subsection; 
(B) declaring the election of the State that 
such sections 5, 6, and 7 shall not apply, as of 
a date certain, to any civil actions covered by 
this Act; and 
(C) containing no other provisions. 
SEC. 5. LIMITATION ON CIVIL LIABILITY FOR HEALTH 
CARE PROFESSIONALS WHO PROVIDE OPIOID 
OVERDOSE DRUGS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, a health care professional who prescribes or 
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provides an opioid overdose drug to an individual at risk 
of experiencing an opioid overdose, or who prescribed or 
provided an opioid overdose drug to a family member, 
friend, or other individual in a position to assist an indi-
vidual at risk of experiencing an opioid overdose, shall not 
be liable for harm caused by the use of the opioid overdose 
drug if the individual to whom such drug is prescribed 
or provided has been educated about opioid overdose pre-
vention and treatment by the health care professional or 
as part of an opioid overdose program. 
(b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to 
a health care professional if the harm was caused by the 
gross negligence or reckless misconduct of the health care 
professional. 
SEC. 6. LIMITATION ON CIVIL LIABILITY FOR INDIVIDUALS 
WORKING FOR OR VOLUNTEERING AT A 
STATE OR LOCAL AGENCY OPIOID OVERDOSE 
PROGRAM. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, except as provided in subsection (b), no indi-
vidual who provides an opioid overdose drug shall be liable 
for harm caused by the emergency administration of an 
opioid overdose drug by another individual if the indi-
vidual who provides such drug— 
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(1) works for or volunteers at an opioid over-
dose program; and 
(2) provides the opioid overdose drug as part of 
the opioid overdose program to an individual author-
ized by the program to receive an opioid overdose 
drug. 
(b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply if 
the harm was caused by the gross negligence or reckless 
misconduct of the individual who provides the drug. 
SEC. 7. LIMITATION ON CIVIL LIABILITY FOR INDIVIDUALS 
WHO ADMINISTER OPIOID OVERDOSE DRUGS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi-
sion of law, except as provided in subsection (b), no indi-
vidual shall be liable for harm caused by the emergency 
administration of an opioid overdose drug to an individual 
who has or reasonably appears to have suffered an over-
dose from heroin or other opioid, if— 
(1) the individual who administers the opioid 
overdose drug obtained the drug from a health care 
professional or as part of an opioid overdose pro-
gram; and 
(2) was educated by the health care professional 
or an opioid overdose program in the proper admin-
istration of the opioid antagonist drug. 
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(b) EXCEPTION.—Subsection (a) shall not apply to 
an individual if the harm was caused by the gross neg-
ligence or reckless misconduct of the individual who ad-
ministers the drug. 
Æ 
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