An Act To Ensure Access to All Paths to Recovery for Persons Affected by Opioids Using Money Obtained through Litigation against Opioid Manufacturers
Maine Legislature, Session 130, LD 1722
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: WARREN, JACKSON
Amends: 5 MRSA §203-A, 5 MRSA §203-B, 5 MRSA §203-C, 5 MRSA §203-D, 5 MRSA §12004-J

Legislative Document
No. 1722
H.P. 1277
House of Representatives, May 19, 2021
An Act To Ensure Access to All Paths to Recovery for Persons 
Affected by Opioids Using Money Obtained through Litigation 
against Opioid Manufacturers
(EMERGENCY)
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed.
ROBERT B. HUNT
Clerk
Presented by Representative WARREN of Hallowell.
Cosponsored by Senator: President JACKSON of Aroostook.
Emergency preamble.  Whereas, acts and resolves of the Legislature do not 
become effective until 90 days after adjournment unless enacted as emergencies; and
Whereas, the substance use crisis, driven significantly by opioids, has killed 
thousands of Maine residents, including 380 individuals who died of drug overdoses in 
2019 alone, and devastated families and communities across the State; and
Whereas, the Maine Attorney General has filed lawsuits against companies involved 
in opioid drug production, including opioid manufacturers and distributors, designed to 
hold them responsible for lives lost and provide resources to remediate harm caused by 
their products; and
Whereas, funds derived from settlement of or damages granted in these lawsuits are 
anticipated to begin being distributed within the biennium, and it is imperative for public 
health and safety that all money received by the State as a result of lawsuits related to opioid 
manufacturers and distributors immediately be used to help remediate and abate the opioid 
and substance use crisis, by supporting all paths to recovery through opioid use prevention, 
intervention, treatment and recovery services, including the use of all United States Food 
and Drug Administration approved opioid addiction medications and expanded access to 
detoxification, relapse prevention, patient assessment, individual treatment planning, 
counseling, services for co-occurring mental illness, provider education, recovery supports, 
diversion control, adequate reimbursement rates and other best practices; and
Whereas, in the judgment of the Legislature, these facts create an emergency within 
the meaning of the Constitution of Maine and require the following legislation as 
immediately necessary for the preservation of the public peace, health and safety; now, 
therefore,
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  5 MRSA §203-A, as enacted by PL 1991, c. 532, §1 and affected by §2, is 
amended to read:
§203-A.  Accounts established due to court orders or other settlements
Unless specifically ordered by the court to do otherwise or for revenue or money 
received under section 203-B, the Attorney General shall work with the Treasurer of State 
to deposit any revenue or money received as a result of any court order, court settlement or 
other agreement into an other special revenue account of the State and all interest must be 
credited to the General Fund.  When, pursuant to a court order or settlement, the Attorney 
General receives money that is specifically designated for antitrust enforcement or for 
enforcement of the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act, the Attorney General is authorized 
to expend such funds for expert witness fees, copying of documents, transcripts and any 
other purpose in accordance with the court order.  Any interest on such funds, unless 
otherwise ordered by the court, must be credited to the General Fund.  The Attorney 
General shall provide an accounting of such funds to the Legislature in a form and as 
determined by the Office of Fiscal and Program Review.
Sec. 2.  5 MRSA §203-B is enacted to read:
§203-B.  Funds received pursuant to court orders or other settlements of opioid crisis 
litigation
Notwithstanding section 203-A and unless specifically ordered by the court to do 
otherwise, the Attorney General shall work with the Treasurer of State to deposit any 
revenue or money received as a result of any court order or other agreement resulting from 
litigation against or any court settlement with an opioid manufacturer, opioid research 
association or any other person in the opioid industry relating to claims made by or 
prosecuted by the State into the Opioid and Substance Use Abatement Fund under section 
203-C. The Attorney General shall provide an accounting of such funds to the Legislature 
in the form and as determined by the Office of Fiscal and Program Review.
Sec. 3.  5 MRSA §203-C is enacted to read:
§203-C.  Opioid and Substance Use Abatement Fund
1.  Definitions.  As used in this section, unless the context otherwise indicates, the 
following terms have the following meanings.
A. "Agonist" means a medication that binds to a receptor of a cell in a human body, 
activating the cell and creating a response or effect in the body as intended by use of 
the medication.
B.  "Antagonist" means a medication that binds to a receptor of a cell in a human body 
without activating the cell, decreasing the receptor's ability to be activated.
C.  "Diversion control" means the prevention of the diversion of lawfully prescribed 
medication for an illegal or illicit purpose.
2.  Opioid and Substance Use Abatement Fund.  The Opioid and Substance Use 
Abatement Fund, referred to in this section as "the fund," is established as a nonlapsing, 
revolving fund administered by the Attorney General to remediate and abate opioid and 
other substance use disorders in the State.  The fund is funded by revenue or money 
received pursuant to section 203-B and other public and private sources.  Any interest 
earned from investment of money in the fund, unless otherwise ordered by the court, must 
be credited to the General Fund.  The Maine Opioid and Substance Use Abatement 
Advisory Commission under section 203-D shall direct the Attorney General to award 
money from the fund to carry out the purposes of the fund under subsection 4, for 
reimbursement of past expenses related to the fund and for reimbursement for the cost of 
administering the fund.
3.  Prohibition on use of fund.  The fund may not be used to purchase additional 
quantities of the same brand of medications donated to the State pursuant to the terms of a 
settlement agreement reached as a result of litigation with entities that manufactured, sold, 
distributed or promoted prescription opioids.
4.  Purposes.  The purposes of the fund are to remediate and abate the opioid and 
substance use crisis and support any recognized path to achieving recovery through opioid 
and substance use prevention, intervention and treatment in all appropriate settings 
including community-based, hospital and corrections facilities, including:
A.  Establishing and ensuring equal access to all United States Food and Drug 
Administration approved addiction medications, including agonist, partial agonist and 
antagonist medications, for the treatment of substance use disorders, including alcohol 
use disorder and opioid use disorder, and relapse prevention following detoxification; 
B.  Increasing capacity in various settings of care including residential centers, 
hospitals and correctional facilities for inpatient detoxification and medically managed 
withdrawal, including access to all United States Food and Drug Administration 
approved medications for medically managed withdrawal and treatment including 
agonist medications for maintenance treatment and antagonist medications for relapse 
prevention following opioid detoxification while in the settings of care;
C.  Increasing access to patient assessment, individual treatment planning, counseling 
and treatment for co-occurring mental illness;  
D.  Increasing residential and recovery housing, community recovery centers and 
recovery coaches and peer supports; 
E.  Expanding and enhancing diversion control; 
F.  Enhancing capacity and resources in emergency departments and in other hospital 
departments to address opioid overdose and establish similar programs for alcohol use 
disorder; 
G.  Enhancing screening, intervention and referral to treatment services by primary 
care providers, hospitals, correctional facilities and other medical facilities; 
H.  Establishing or expanding treatment alternatives that provide psychosocial supports 
and medication-assisted treatment to expand access to care in rural areas including 
mobile health services, telehealth and pharmacist administration of medication; 
I.  Establishing statewide provider education relative to medications and support 
services for substance use disorders; 
J.  Providing appropriate rates for reimbursement to health care and other providers for 
services delivered in treating patients with substance use disorders and co-occurring 
mental illness within the framework of prevention, intervention, treatment and 
recovery in order to build staff and service capacity; and
K.  Other best practices relative to the prevention and treatment of and recovery from 
opioid and other substance use disorders. 
5.  Priority for medication and services.  Priority for medication and services 
provided by a program or other effort funded by the fund to benefit a person affected by 
opioid or other substance use disorders must be given to:
A.  A person who is uninsured or underinsured;
B.  A person who has returned to or is reentering the community from a correctional 
facility or a correctional or criminal justice rehabilitative setting;
C.  A person in a health care setting in which medication is not covered by the person's 
insurance, including a detoxification facility, inpatient facility or residential facility; 
and
D.  A person in an emergency department or other hospital inpatient department.
6.  Limitation of funding.  A disbursement from the fund may not supplant federal 
funding or state appropriations directed toward opioid and substance use prevention, 
intervention, treatment and recovery or revenue or money received by the State to purchase 
medication as a result of a court order or settlement of litigation with entities that 
manufactured, sold, distributed or promoted prescription opioids prior to the creation of the 
fund. Disbursements from the fund must continue until such time as the funds in the fund 
are exhausted.
Sec. 4.  5 MRSA §203-D is enacted to read:
§203-D.  Maine Opioid and Substance Use Abatement Advisory Commission
1.  Establishment.  The Maine Opioid and Substance Use Abatement Advisory 
Commission, as established in section 12004-J, subsection 19, referred to in this section as 
"the commission," is created to review information concerning the opioid crisis and opioid 
and substance use prevention, treatment and recovery and make binding directives 
directing the Attorney General to award money from the Opioid and Substance Use 
Abatement Fund pursuant to section 203-C.
2.  Membership.  The commission consists of 15 members as follows:
A.  The Attorney General or the Attorney General's designee, who serves as chair of 
the commission;
B.  The Commissioner of Health and Human Services or the commissioner's designee;
C.  The director of the opioid response unit within the Governor's Office of Policy 
Innovation and the Future or the director's designee; 
D.  One member of the Senate, appointed by the President of the Senate;
E.  One member of the House of Representatives, appointed by the Speaker of the 
House of Representatives;
F.  One member representing families impacted by the opioid crisis, appointed by the 
Attorney General;
G.  One member with expertise in drug treatment, appointed by the Attorney General;
H.  One member representing the substance use prevention community, appointed by 
the Attorney General; 
I.  One member representing the substance use recovery community, appointed by the 
Attorney General; 
J.  One member with lived experience with substance use disorder, appointed by the 
Attorney General;
K.  One member representing law enforcement, appointed by the Attorney General;
L.  One member representing reentry supports for currently and formerly incarcerated 
individuals and their families, appointed by the Attorney General;
M.  One member representing pretrial services, appointed by the Attorney General; and
N.  Two members representing municipalities in the State impacted by the opioid crisis, 
appointed by the Attorney General.  
3.  Terms.  A member of the commission appointed under subsection 2, paragraph D 
or E serves during the legislative term for which the member was elected.  Members of the 
commission appointed under paragraphs F to N may serve no more than 2 terms of 3 years, 
except that the first member of the commission appointed under each of paragraphs F to H 
serves an initial term of 2 years and the first member of the commission appointed under 
each of paragraphs I to L serves an initial term of one year and may be appointed to a 3rd 
term.
4.  Meetings.  The commission shall meet at least twice within each calendar year. Six 
members of the commission constitute a quorum for the transaction of business.  Each 
member of the commission has one vote, with all actions being taken by an affirmative 
vote of the majority of members present.
5.  Compensation.  Members of the commission are entitled to be reimbursed for 
necessary travel and lodging expenses incurred in the performance of their duties.
6.  Attorney General.  The Attorney General shall:
A.  Carry out commission recommendations and directives pursuant to section 203-C, 
subsection 2;
B.  At least twice annually, consult with substance use treatment and prevention 
stakeholders, including consumers, providers, families, advocates, public health and 
addiction professionals and individuals with expertise in systemic racism and structural 
health inequity, to develop key performance indicators relating to substance use 
treatment and prevention efforts, review relevant data and identify recommended 
allocations, grants and contracts for disbursement of the Opioid and Substance Use 
Abatement Fund to persons, departments and organizations to present to the 
commission to carry out the purposes of section 203-C, subsection 4; and
C.  Beginning February 15, 2022 and each year thereafter, provide a report on the 
previous year's receipts, disbursements, allocations and awards disbursed under section 
203-C to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having jurisdiction over health 
and human services matters.
Sec. 5.  5 MRSA §12004-J, sub-§19 is enacted to read:
19.   
Substance Use 
Prevention, 
Treatment and 
Recovery 
Maine Opioid and Substance Use 
Abatement Advisory Commission 
Expenses Only 
MRSA 
§203-D 
Emergency clause.  In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this legislation 
takes effect when approved.
SUMMARY
This bill directs all funds awarded through opioid litigation and settlements to the 
Opioid and Substance Use Abatement Fund administered by the Attorney General for the 
purpose of remediating and addressing the substance use crisis in Maine through 
prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery. These funds may not supplant federal 
funding or state appropriations directed toward prevention, intervention, treatment and 
recovery or funds received from prior opioid litigation and settlements or court orders.
The bill also establishes the Maine Opioid and Substance Use Abatement Advisory 
Commission to review opioid and substance use related information and determine how 
Opioid and Substance Use Abatement Fund funds are to be spent to carry out the purposes 
of the fund. The bill requires the Attorney General to convene, at least twice annually, a 
stakeholder group to develop and review performance indicators and to develop and 
provide recommendations concerning disbursements and allocations from the fund to 
recommend to the commission. The bill requires the Attorney General to award fund funds 
as directed by the commission and to annually report and provide information about 
received and expended funds to the joint standing committee of the Legislature having 
jurisdiction over health and human services matters.