HB 6698 — AN ACT CONCERNING DRUG POLICY, SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND PEER SUPPORT SERVICES.

[and] (10) Documented expenses, including legal fees, incurred by the state or any municipality in securing settlement proceeds deposited in the fundto theextent such expensesare not otherwise reimbursedpursuant to a fee agreement provided for by the controlling judgment, consent decree or settlement;

5 July 1, 2023 17a-674c(e) StatementGL ofJoint LegislativeFavorable Commissioners:Subst.

InAPP SectionJoint 1(c)(5),Favorable "use"LCO was{\\PRDFS1\HCOUSERS\BARRYJN\WS\2023HB-06698-R02-HB.docx10 addedof after10 "substance" for internal consistency;

Section 1(d) was rewritten for clarity;

in Section 3(a)(1), Subpara.

(H) was moved to clarify the applicability of the provision concerning the employment status of persons serving as designees;

in Section 4(a)(7), "20-74" was bracketed and "20-74s" was inserted after the closing bracket for accuracy;

in Section 4(c), "subsection (b) of this section" was changed to "subdivision (1) or (2) of subsection (b) of this section, as applicable," and the last sentence was rewritten, for clarity.

GL Joint Favorable Subst.

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187 The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose.

In general, fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional knowledge.

Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.

OFA Fiscal Note State Impact:

Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 24 $ FY 25 $ State Comptroller - Fringe GF - Cost Approximately Approximately Benefits $225,000 $225,000 Governmental GF - Cost Approximately Approximately Accountability, Off.

$500,000 $500,000 Resource of the Opioid Opioid See Below See Below Settlement Fund Settlement Fund- Potential Cost Note:

GF=General Fund Municipal Impact:

None Explanation This bill has a significant and indeterminate cost by creating a new state office within the Office of Government Accountability (OGA).

Comparing salaries and costs for similar executive specialized positions such as the Office of the Child Advocate, the Office of the Victim AdvocateandtheContractingStandardsBoardChairitisestimatedthat this position would cost the state $216,471 in salary and benefits annually.

The bill also charges the Drug Policy Officer with hiring staff to fulfill their duties.

The staff of this office is likely to be a small, specialized staff similar to several offices within OGA.

To staff this position similarly would require 2 Assistant Drug Policy Officers, 1 Office Manager and 1 Research Analyst.

Similar positions and salary The fringe benefit costs for most state employees are budgeted centrally in accounts administered by the Comptroller.

The estimated active employee fringe benefit cost associated with most personnel changes is 42.82% of payroll in FY 24.

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187 and benefit costs are estimated to be around $540,000 annually.

This estimate may also be impacted by the staff sought by the person hired to fill this position and may adjust in line with workload and need.

There may be other one-time or ongoing costs for technology, supplies, travel and materials.

Sections 4 and 5 could result in a cost to the Opioid Settlement Fund associated with expanding the peer navigator program.

The cost to support at least two peer navigators per community and meet the requirements of the program is anticipated to be approximately $150,000 to $175,000 per community.The extent ofthecost to implement the program statewide is dependent on the terms and conditions established by the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) and the Chief Drug Policy Officer.

The Opioid Settlement Fund is a separate, nonlapsing fund administered by a 37-member Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee with assistance from DMHAS.

Expenditures must be approved by the Committee and used only in accordance with the controlling judgment, consent decree, or settlement.

The Out Years The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would continue into the future subject to inflation and salary adjustments.

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187 OLR Bill Analysis sHB 6698 AN ACT CONCERNING DRUG POLICY, SUBSTANCE ABUSE AND PEER SUPPORT SERVICES.

SUMMARY This bill requires the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) commissioner to replace current law’s peer navigator pilot program for people with opioid use disorder with a statewide program.

It opens the program to any community that opts to participate and requires the commissioner to use any available funds in the Opioid Settlement Fund (see BACKGROUND) to pay for administering it.

The bill also establishes an Office of the Chief Drug Policy Officer, overseen by the chief drug policy (CDP) officer.

Under the bill, theoffice serves as the central point of contact for the statewide peer navigator program and a centralized location for collecting and analyzing information on services provided to people with substance use disorders and their families.

The bill places the office within the Office of Governmental Accountability (OGA) and makes technical and conforming changes (see BACKGROUND).

EFFECTIVE DATE:

July 1, 2023 STATEWIDE PEER NAVIGATOR PROGRAM Current law requires the DMHAS commissioner to establish a pilot program in up to five urban, suburban, and rural communities to serve people with opioid use disorder.

Among other things, each participating community must form a team of two peer navigators.

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187 The bill instead requires the commissioner, by January 1, 2024, to replace the pilot program with a statewide peer navigator program in all communities that choose to participate.

In doing so, she must use available funds from the Opioid Settlement Fund and consult with the CDP officer.

As under current law, each participating community must form a team of at least two peer navigators who must, among other things, (1) travel throughout the community to address the health care and social needs of people with opioid use disorder and (2) complete regularly updated training on non-coercive and non-stigmatizing methods for engaging them.

Under the bill, the DMHAS commissioner consults with the CDP officer to determine the training.

As under existing law, a “peer navigator” is a person with experience working with people with substance use disorder who (1) provides nonmedical mental health care and substance use services and (2) has a collaborative relationship with health care professionals authorized to prescribe medications to treat opioid use disorder.

Annual Report The bill requires the DMHAS commissioner and CDP officer to submit a report annually beginning by January 1, 2025, to the General Law and Public Health committees on the success of the statewide program serving people with opioid use disorder.

CHIEF DRUG POLICY OFFICER The bill establishes an Office of the Chief Drug Policy Officer within OGA and overseen by the CDP officer.

This officer is appointed by the governor subject to the legislature’s approval,serves a four-year termor until the next successor is appointed and has qualified, and may be reappointed.

The bill requires that this officer be knowledgeable about substance use disorders and the services provided to people with substance use disorders and their families.

The officer must act independently of other state agencies in doing his or her duties, regardless of conflicting laws.

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187 Duties Within available appropriations, the officer must:

1.

appoint and direct necessary staff to fulfill the office’s mission;

2.

ensure that the office serves as (a) the central point of contact for the state-wide peer navigator program (see above) and (b) a centralized location for collecting information concerning services provided to people with substance use disorders and their families;

3.

advise the public concerning the office’s purpose, contact information, and services;

4.

evaluate the services that state agencies and other entities provideto people with substance use disordersandtheir families and how they are provided, as well as receive and investigate complaints as deemed prudent about their actions;

5.

encourage coordination between state agencies in providing services to people and families in order to prevent and eliminate duplicated efforts and save the state money;

6.

recommend changes to state policies on substance use disorders, including changes in systems used to provide services to people and families;

and 7.

conduct public education programs, undertake legislative advocacy, and make proposals for systemic reform concerning substance use disorders and services provided to people and families.

Annual Report The bill requires the CDP officer to submit a report annually by January 31 to the governor and General Law, Public Health, and Judiciary committeesdetailing andanalyzinghisor herworkduringthe preceding calendar year.

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187 BACKGROUND Related Bills SB 1163, reported favorably by the Public Safety Committee, authorizes the Opioid Settlement Fund’s monies to be used to equip police officers with opioid antagonists.

sHB 6696, reported favorably by the General Law Committee, (1) requires Connecticut-licensed pharmacists, when dispensing an opioid drug, to provide patients a free personal opioid drug deactivation and disposal product and (2) authorizes pharmacists to seek reimbursement from the Opioid Settlement Fund for these costs.

sHB 6718, reported favorably by the Children’s Committee, appropriates $400,000 from the Opioid Settlement Fund in FY 24 for costs of distributing pharmacy warning stickers and labels for opioid drugs.

Office of Governmental Accountability By law, OGA consists of independent divisions for which it provides consolidated personnel, payroll, affirmative action, and administrative and business office functions, including information technology associated with these functions.

(In practice, the Department of Administrative Services performs these functions for OGA.) These divisions have independent decision-making authority, including the ability to make decisions on budgetary issues and employing necessary staff.

Opioid Settlement Fund (CGS § 17a-674b et seq.) PA 22-48 established the Opioid Settlement Fund as a separate non- lapsing fund administered by a37-member Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee with assistance from DMHAS.

The fund must contain moneys the state receives from opioid-related judgements, consent decrees, and settlements and can only be used following their provisions, as confirmed by the attorney general and after the Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee’s and the Office of Policy and Management secretary’s approval.

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187 COMMITTEE ACTION General Law Committee Joint Favorable Substitute Yea 22 Nay 0 (03/07/2023) sHB6698 / File No.

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