Opioid RADAR Act

Bill: 118-s-2699
Sponsor: full_name: Sen. Scott, Rick [R-FL]
Introduced: 2023-07-27
Policy area: Health
Latest action: action_date: 2023-07-27
text: Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.

Summaries:

tv_txt: II 118th CONGRESS 1st Session S. 2699 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES July 27, 2023 Mr. Scott of Florida introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions A BILL To combat the fentanyl crisis.

1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Overdose Response Action Data for Actionable Reforms Act or the Opioid RADAR Act . 2. Accurate data on opioid-related overdoses The Secretary of Health and Human Services may award grants to States, territories, and localities to support improved data and surveillance on opioid-related overdoses, including for activities to improve postmortem toxicology testing, data linkage across data systems throughout the United States, electronic death reporting, or the comprehensiveness of data on fatal and nonfatal opioid-related overdoses. 3. Office of National Drug Control Policy reform (a) Senses of Congress It is the sense of Congress that— (1) the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy shall be a Cabinet-level position; and (2) nothing in this section shall affect the reporting structure of agencies with drug enforcement responsibilities. (b) Requirements The Office of National Drug Control Policy shall— (1) document strategies for ensuring prevention of duplicating services and grant funding within National Drug Control Program agencies; (2) collaborate with the National Center for Health Statistics and the National Forensic Laboratory Information System, including by working with the Department of Justice to create national standards for the submission of data to ensure uniformity across the United States, including data from cases in which the defendant pleads guilty; and (3) issue guidance that States and localities should record overdose deaths as homicides if there is sufficient evidence that the overdose was not self-induced and intentional. (c) Interagency coordinating council The Office of National Drug Control Policy, the Department of Justice, the Department of Health and Human Services, and other National Drug Control Program agencies shall coordinate to limit duplication and ensure uniform reporting standards and improve relationships between the agencies. (d) Congressional Review Act If the Office of National Drug Control Policy does not certify that a final rule made by a National Drug Control Program participant is consistent with the National Drug Control Policy, the rule shall be deemed to be submitted under section 801(a)(1) of title 5, United States Code. (e) Reprogramming and transfer requests Section 704(c)(4)(A) of the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 1998 ( 21 U.S.C. 1703(c)(4)(A) ) is amended by striking deemed approved and inserting deemed denied . 4. State opioid response grants The Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use shall, to the extent practicable— (1) include in the annual report to Congress on the State Opioid Response Grants, authorized under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 ( Public Law 117–103 ), an assessment of challenges of recipients of such grants, accounting for variations in implementation; and (2) provide to recipients of such grants best practices on how to address opioid-related overdoses. 5. Wastewater pilot program The Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in collaboration with the Attorney General or their designee, shall carry out a pilot program to award grants on a competitive basis to municipal wastewater treatment facilities in order to conduct wastewater analysis to determine the prevalence of certain illicit substances, such as fentanyl or xylazine, as determined by the Director, in collaboration with the Attorney General, in the communities served by such facilities. 6. Grants for reducing opioid overdose deaths (a) Use of funds Section 544(c) of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 290dd–3(c) ) is amended— (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting or administering after prescribing ; and (2) in paragraph (2), by inserting or on the administration of after prescribing of . (b) Authorization of appropriations Section 544(g) of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 290dd–3(g) ) is amended by striking to carry out this section and inserting to carry out this section and section 544A . 7. Grants for reducing opioid overdose deaths in elementary and secondary schools Title V of the Public Health Service Act is amended by inserting after section 544 of such Act ( 42 U.S.C. 290dd–3 ) the following: 544A. Reducing opioid overdose deaths in elementary and secondary schools (a) In general The Secretary may award grants to eligible entities to provide for the administration, at public and private elementary and secondary schools under the jurisdiction of the eligible entity, of drugs and devices for emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose. (b) Applications To seek a grant under this section, an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary an application at such time, in such manner, and containing— (1) the information required under section 544(b); (2) the certifications specified in subsection (c); and (3) such other information as the Secretary shall require. (c) Certifications The certifications specified in this subsection, with respect to each elementary school and secondary school under the jurisdiction of the eligible entity, are the following: (1) The school has in place a program under which the school will permit trained personnel of the school to administer drugs or devices for purposes of providing emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose. (2) The school will maintain a supply of such drugs and devices in a location that is easily accessible to trained personnel of the school for the purpose of administering such drugs and devices. (3) The school has in place a plan for having on the premises of the school during all operating hours one or more individuals who are such trained personnel. (4) The State attorney general of the State in which the school is located certifies that the State— (A) has reviewed any applicable civil liability protection law to determine the application of such law with regard to elementary and secondary school trained personnel who may administer drugs and devices for emergency treatment in the case of a known or suspected opioid overdose; and (B) has concluded that such law provides adequate civil liability protection applicable to such trained personnel. (d) Definitions In this section: (1) The term civil liability protection law means a State law offering legal protection to individuals who give aid in an emergency to an individual who is ill, in peril, or otherwise incapacitated. (2) The term eligible entity has the meaning given such term in section 544(a)(2). (3) The term trained personnel , with respect to an elementary or secondary school, means an individual— (A) who is a school nurse or other individual designated by the principal or other appropriate administrative staff of the school to administer drugs or devices for emergency treatment in the case of a known or suspected opioid overdose; (B) who has received training in the administration of such drugs or devices; and (C) whose training in the administration of such drugs or devices meets appropriate medical standards and has been documented by appropriate administrative staff of the school. . 8. Fentanyl test strips Section 422(f) of the Controlled Substances Act is amended— (1) in paragraph (1), by striking or at the end; (2) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and inserting ; or ; and (3) by adding at the end the following: (3) fentanyl test strips. .