2023 Texas Statutes › Government Code › Title 4 - Executive Branch › Subtitle A - Executive Officers › Chapter 403 - Comptroller of Public Accounts › Subchapter R. Statewide Opioid Settlement Agreement › Section 403.505. Opioid Abatement Account

Sec. 403.505.  OPIOID ABATEMENT ACCOUNT.  (a)  The opioid abatement account is a dedicated account in the general revenue fund administered by the comptroller.
(b)  The account is composed of:
(1)  money obtained from a statewide opioid settlement agreement and deposited in the account under Section 403.507;
(2)  money received by the state from any other source resulting directly or indirectly from an action by the state against an opioid manufacturer, an opioid distributor, or another person in the opioid industry relating to a violation of state or federal law on the manufacture, marketing, distribution, or sale of opioids, other than money distributed to a political subdivision of the state in accordance with the terms of a settlement agreement or judgment;
(3)  money appropriated or transferred to the account by the legislature;
(4)  gifts and grants contributed to the account; and
(5)  earnings on the principal of the account.
(c)  Money in the account may be appropriated only to a state agency for the abatement of opioid-related harms.
(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:
(A)  health care providers;
(B)  first responders;
(C)  persons experiencing an opioid overdose;
(D)  families;
(E)  schools, including under a policy adopted under Subchapter E-1, Chapter 38, Education Code, regarding the maintenance, administration, and disposal of opioid antagonists;
(F)  community-based service providers;
(G)  social workers; or
(H)  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)  further any other purpose related to opioid abatement authorized by appropriation.
(e)  Section 404.071 does not apply to the account.
Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 781 (S.B. 1827), Sec. 1, eff. June 16, 2021.
Amended by:
Acts 2023, 88th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1080 (S.B. 629), Sec. 2, eff. June 18, 2023.