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SPONSOR:
Sen. Hansen & Sen. Sokola & Sen. Townsend &
Sen. Lockman & Sen. S. McBride & Rep. Schwartzkopf
& Rep. Mitchell & Rep. Bentz & Rep. D. Short &
Sen. Brown
Sens. Bonini, Ennis, Hocker, Lawson, Lopez,
Mantzavinos, Paradee, Pettyjohn, Pinkney, Poore,
Richardson, Sturgeon, Walsh, Wilson; Reps. Baumbach,
Briggs King, Minor-Brown, Wilson-Anton
DELAWARE STATE SENATE
151st GENERAL ASSEMBLY
SENATE BILL NO. 166
AS AMENDED BY
SENATE AMENDMENT NO. 1
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 16 OF THE DELAWARE CODE AND THE LAWS OF DELAWARE RELATING TO
THE DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS FROM THE PRESCRIPTION OPIOID IMPACT FEE AND COURT
SETTLEMENTS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE (Three-fourths of all members
elected to each house thereof concurring therein):
Section 1. Amend Chapter 48B, Title 16 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through
and insertions as shown by underline as follows:
Chapter 48B. Prescription Opioid Impact Fund opioid funds; litigation authority.
Section 2. Amend § 4802B, Title 16 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and
insertions as show by underline as follows and by redesignating accordingly:
§ 4802B. Definitions
For purposes of this chapter:
(2)a. “Government entity” means all of the following:
1. A governmental subdivision within this State, including a county, municipality, district, town, or
village.
2. A subdivision, special district, department, agency, division, board, commission, officer, or
instrumentality of an entity under paragraph (2)a.1 of this section.
3. A sheriff, school district or public school.
b. “Government entity” does not mean the Department of Justice or a statewide department, agency,
division, board, or commission.
(8) “Released claims” means released claims as that term is defined in the statewide opioid settlement
agreements, or, if not therein defined, the claims sought to be released in such statewide opioid settlement agreement.
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(9) “School district” means any of the following:
a. A school district as defined in § 1002 of Title 14.
b. A county vocational-technical high school district or county vocational-technical center district under
Chapter 26 of Title 14.
(10) “Statewide opioid settlement agreement” means an agreement, including consent judgments, consent
decrees filed or unfiled, and related agreements or documents, between this State, represented by the Department of
Justice, and certain opioid manufacturers, distributors, dispensers, consultants, chain pharmacies, related entities, or the
subdivisions of this State, to provide or allocate remuneration for conduct related to the manufacture, promotion,
dispensing, sale, or distribution of opioid products.
Section 3. Amend Chapter 48B, Title 16 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through
and insertions as shown by underline as follows:
§ 4803B. Prescription Opioid Impact Fund.
(a) A special fund known as the Prescription Opioid Impact Fund (“Fund”) (Impact Fund) is established and the
State Treasurer shall invest the Impact Fund consistent with the investment policies established by the Cash Management
Policy Board. The State Treasurer shall credit interest to the Impact Fund on a monthly basis consistent with the rate
established by the Cash Management Policy Board. The Impact Fund shall be administered collectively with the
Prescription Opioid Settlement Fund under § 5197 of this title.
(b) The following moneys must be deposited in the Impact Fund:
(1) All impact fees collected by the State under to § 4804B of this title.
(2) All funds received by the State as the result of a civil action relating to opioids unless otherwise
specifically designated by a court order or written agreement arising from the civil action. [Repealed.]
(3) Any other money appropriated or transferred to the Impact Fund by the General Assembly.
(c) Money in the Impact Fund must be used for activities in 1 or more of the following categories:
(1) Opioid addiction prevention.
(2) The following opioid addiction services:
a. Inpatient and outpatient treatment programs and facilities, including short-term and long-term
residential treatment programs and sober living facilities. recovery residences.
b. Services relating to treating substance use disorder for the under-insured and uninsured.
c. Emergency assistance relating to prescription opioids, including purchasing pharmaceuticals used to
reverse the effect of an opioid overdose.
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d. Peer support programs.
e. Services to address adverse social determinants of health which act as a barrier to recovery, including
family support services.
(3) The cost of administering this chapter, as follows:
a. No more than 15% of the money annually deposited into the Impact Fund may be used for
administering this chapter including expenses incurred by the Prescription Monitoring Program under this chapter.
b. Entering into contracts to implement this chapter, including contracts entered into by the Secretary of
the Department of Health and Social Services or the Secretary of State for administration of this chapter.
c. Costs incurred by the Attorney General to bring an action to enforce this chapter must be covered by
the Impact Fund and are not subject to or included in the 15% cap on administrative expenses.
(d) Money in the Impact Fund may not be used to supplant existing state or local government funding.
(e) The Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services shall allocate the money in this Fund by
awarding grants and entering into contracts. Before allocating money in this Fund, the Secretary shall review any
recommendations provided by January 1 of the most recent calendar year from the Behavioral Health Consortium,
Addiction Action Committee, and the Overdose System of Care Committee. The Behavioral Health Consortium shall
distribute the money in the Impact Fund based upon the recommendations of the Prescription Opioid Settlement
Distribution Commission.
§ 4808B. Prescription Opioid Settlement Fund.
(a) A special fund known as the Prescription Opioid Settlement Fund (Settlement Fund) is established and the
State Treasurer shall invest monies in the Settlement Fund consistent with the investment policies established by the Cash
Management Policy Board. The State Treasurer shall credit interest to the Settlement Fund on a monthly basis consistent
with the rate established by the Cash Management Policy Board. The Settlement Fund shall be administered collectively
with the Prescription Opioid Impact Fund under § 5197 of this title.
(b) The Settlement Fund shall hold all monies collected by the State and its subdivisions as a result of the terms of
statewide opioid settlement agreements, judgments, or other recoveries in connection with a defendant’s actual or alleged
liability for contributing to the opioid crisis in Delaware that must be used for purposes of remediating or abating the opioid
crisis in Delaware.
(c) All money in the Settlement Fund is continuously available for expenditure under § 5197 of this title and
spending limits imposed by the General Assembly, including for salaries and other routine operating expenses of the
Settlement Fund or the Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission.
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(1) Annually, $300,000 or 5% of the total annually deposited into the Settlement Fund, whichever is greater,
may be used for administering this chapter and § 5196 through § 5197 of Title 16.
(2) Money appropriated by the General Assembly to implement this chapter and § 5196 through § 5197 of
Title 16 must be reimbursed from the Funds.
(d) Money in the Settlement Fund must be used for activities in 1 or more of the following categories:
(1) For services that remediate the harm caused by opioids.
(2) To reduce harm caused by opioids.
(3) Consistent with the terms of the settlement, judgment, or other source of the monies.
(e) Money in the Settlement Fund may not be used to supplant existing state or local government funding.
(f) Money in the Settlement Fund does not lapse at any time and must not be transferred to or commingled with
any other fund.
(g) The Behavioral Health Consortium shall distribute the money in the Settlement Fund based upon the
recommendations of the Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission.
§ 4809B. Limitation on authority of government entities to bring lawsuits.
No government entity has the authority to assert released claims after February 28, 2021 against entities released
by the Department of Justice in a statewide opioid settlement agreement executed by the Attorney General and the released
party.
Section 4: Section § 4807B of Title 16 of the Delaware Code is hereby repealed.
Section 5. Amend Subchapter VIII-A, Chapter 51, Title 16 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by
strike through and insertions as show by underline as follows:
Subchapter VIII-A. Behavioral Health Consortium. Consortium; Prescription Opioid Distribution Commission.
§ 5195. Behavioral Health Consortium. Consortium; Prescription Opioid Distribution Commission.
(a) There is established a The following are established:
(1) The Behavioral Health Consortium, referred to in this subchapter as the “Consortium.”
(2) The Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission, a subcommittee of the Consortium, referred
to in this subchapter as the “Commission.”
(b)(1) The Consortium shall provide oversight of the State’s private and public bodies or entities that affect
behavioral health-care and substance use treatment to ensure the delivery of quality care.
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(2) The Commission is established to distribute the money in the Prescription Opioid Settlement Fund,
“Settlement Fund,” under § 4808B of this title, and the Prescription Opioid Impact Fund, “Impact Fund”, under §
4803B of this title.
a. The purpose of the Commission is to establish a coordinated and consensus driven effort to repair the
harm done to communities in this State by the opioid crisis.
b. Delaware is a high harm state with significant numbers of overdose deaths reported each year.
c. The powerful, addictive qualities of opioids cause people who are suffering from substance use
disorder to face a long road to recovery. The challenges of recovering from an addiction to opioids also has a
tremendous impact on families, friends, and other loved ones, and first responders and the health care system must
expend significant resources to address the opioid crisis.
d. The Commission shall distribute settlement monies, as well as opioid impact fees, to ensure that the
use of settlement proceeds and impact fees is coordinated to abate the opioid crisis in Delaware and not diverted to
other purposes. It is the intent of the General Assembly that monies from statewide opioid settlement agreements
and the prescription opioid impact fee are used to maximize harm reduction from the opioid crisis and to provide
Delawareans with a coordinated opportunity to provide input on the best ways to spend these monies in order to
abate the opioid crisis. The Commission will also ensure that decisions on how to spend opioid-related funds are
based on the consensus of stakeholders through a process that considers the views and experiences of affected
communities.
e. For purposes of this subchapter, “statewide opioid settlement agreement” means as defined in § 4802B
of this title.
f. The terms of statewide opioid settlement agreements, bankruptcy plans, or other agreements for the
payment of monies by defendants in opioid-related litigation may provide a framework for how the monies may be
used to remediate the harm caused by the opioid crisis. The Commission must comply with all applicable terms
when disbursing monies derived from such settlements.
g. In order to increase the amount of settlement dollars allocated to Delaware, it is the intent of the
General Assembly that all state and local governments participate in this coordinated process for all settlement
monies to flow into the Prescription Opioid Settlement Fund and the Prescription Opioid Impact Fund.
(c)(1) The Consortium shall periodically report to the Governor and General Assembly, on a schedule to be
determined by the Consortium, to recommend any potential legislative action that ensures quality delivery and expanded
access to behavioral health care. The first report is due by April 16, 2018.
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(2) Beginning January 1, 2022, the Commission shall produce an annual report, published on the
Commission’s website, that contains all of the following:
a. The amounts and sources of monies received by the Prescription Opioid Settlement Fund.
b. The aggregate amount of monies received by the Prescription Opioid Impact Fund.
c. By fund, the amounts and sources of any other monies received.
d. By fund, the contracts or grants awarded by the Consortium, including the identity of each recipient,
the amount of the award, the subject matter or program involved, and the primary terms and conditions of the
award or contract.
e. By fund, the amounts disbursed in respect of approved contracts, grants and other authorized
expenditures and administrative expenses, including amounts disbursed to qualifying local governments for local
government block grants.
(3) The Consortium and Commission shall provide a copy of each report under this subsection (c) to the
Director and the Librarian of the Division of Research of Legislative Council and the Delaware Public Archives.
§ 5196. Organization and composition of the Consortium.
(a) The Consortium is composed of 25 27 members, as follows:
(1) Nine Eleven individuals, or their designees, who are members of the Consortium by virtue of their
respective positions, as follows:
j. The Attorney General, as co-chair of the Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission.
k. The chair of the Local Government Committee of the Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution
Commission.
§ 5196A. Organization and composition of the Prescription Opioid Settlement Distribution Commission.
(a) The Commission shall make recommendations to the Consortium regarding all distributions from the money in
the Settlement Fund and the Impact Fund.
(b) The Commission consists of the following 15 members, or a designee selected by the member serving by virtue
of their position:
(1) The Attorney General.
(2) The Governor.
(3) The Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services.
(4) Two members of the Senate, 1 from the minority caucus and 1 from the majority caucus, appointed by
the President Pro Tempore of the Senate.
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(5) Two members of the House of Representatives, 1 from the minority caucus and 1 from the majority
caucus, appointed by the Speaker of the House.
(6) One member of the public, who is a resident of this State, appointed by Governor.
(7) One member of the public, who is a resident of this State, appointed by the Attorney General.
(8) Three members representing each county government in Delaware, appointed as follows:
a. One member appointed by the New Castle County Executive, with the advice and consent of the
County Council.
b. One member appointed by the Kent County Administrator, with the advice and consent of Levy Court.
c. One member appointed by the Sussex County Administrator, with the advice and consent of the
County Council.
d.1. If a county is not participating in a statewide opioid settlement agreement in which the county
government is eligible to participate, that county is disqualified from appointing a member under paragraphs
(b)(8)a. through (b)(8)c. of this section until the county participates in the statewide opioid settlement agreement.
2. If a county is disqualified from appointing a member under paragraph (b)(8)d. of this section, the
Governor shall appoint an additional representative from a municipal government under paragraph (b)(9) of
this section, who serves until the county is qualified to appoint a member or the Governor appoints a
replacement.
(9) One representative of municipal government, appointed by the Governor and selected from a list of 3
names provided by the Delaware League of Local Governments within the 60 days before a member’s term expires or
within 30 days after a vacancy. All of the following apply to the member appointed under this paragraph (b)(9):
a. Must rotate annually, on July 1 of each year, from among the municipal governments in this State.
b. Must not represent a municipal government that is not participating in a statewide opioid settlement
agreement in which that municipal government is eligible to participate.
(10) One member representing a substance use disorder advocacy group, appointed by the Attorney General.
(11) One member representing the addiction recovery system, appointed by the Governor.
(c) The Attorney General and Governor, or their designees, shall co-chair the Commission and shall be responsible
for guiding the administration of the Commission by, at a minimum, doing all of the following:
(1) Notifying the individuals who are members of the Commission of the formation of the Commission, and,
if applicable, notifying a person of the need to nominate or appoint members.
(2) Setting a date, time, and place for the initial organizational meeting.
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(3) Supervising the preparation and distribution of meeting notices, agendas, minutes, correspondence, and
reports.
(4) Establishing a webpage dedicated to the work of the Commission and publishing a list of the members of
the Commission and the person who appointed them, meeting notices, agendas, minutes, and reports.
(5) Ensuring that any reports produced by the Commission is distributed to members of the Delaware General
Assembly, the Governor, the Director and the Librarian of the Division of Research of Legislative Council, and the
Delaware Public Archives.
(d)(1) A quorum of the Commission, or any committee of the Commission, is a majority of its current members.
Official action by the Commission, including making findings and recommendations, requires the approval of the majority
of the Commission members present at a public meeting where a quorum of the Commission is present.
(2) The Commission shall meet no less than 1 time every 4 months.
(3) The Commission shall adopt rules or procedures governing the work of the Commission that include ethics
standards and procedures to identify and address conflicts of interest. The Commission’s rules and procedures must be
consistent with the terms of the sources of funds under § 4808B of this title.
(4) The Behavioral Health Consortium shall provide administrative support to the Commission.
(e) The Commission shall establish a Local Government Committee that shall provide recommendations to the
Commission regarding the distribution of money from the Settlement Fund and Impact Fund.
(1) The Local Government Committee must include the 3 members representing county government under
paragraph (b)(8) of this section and the member representing municipal government under paragraph (b)(9) of this
section and may include additional representatives from municipal governments.
(2) The chair and members of the Local Government Committee are selected in the same manner as other
committees under subsection (f) of this section.
(3) If the Commission does not adopt the recommendations of the Local Government Committee, the
Commission shall provide a written explanation of the decision and provide an opportunity for the Local Government
Committee to respond.
(f) The Commission co-chairs may create additional committees. The Commission co-chairs shall appoint a
member of the Commission to serve as the chair of each committee and the initial committee members. Additional
committee members may be appointed or removed by the chair of each committee. Individuals who are not members of the
Commission may serve as a member of a committee.
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(g) The Commission shall solicit and review any recommendations regarding the distribution of money from the
Settlement Fund and the Impact Fund from all of the following:
(1) The Behavioral Health Consortium.
(2) The Addiction Action Committee.
(3) Overdose System of Care Committee.
(4) Drug Overdose Fatality Review Committee.
(h) The Commission shall seek input from the public and private entities and individuals concerned with the
intended purposes of the Funds and shall conduct public hearings as necessary to provide an opportunity for public
comment.
(i) The Commission shall use data and evidence on community harm to guide distributions and may procure
reports to help guide the work of the Commission.
§ 5196B. Distributions from the Prescription Opioid Settlement Fund and the Prescription Opioid Impact Fund.
(a)(1) The Consortium shall distribute the money in the Prescription Opioid Settlement Fund (Settlement Fund)
and the Prescription Opioid Impact Fund (Impact Fund) based on the recommendations of the Commission by awarding
grants, by directing the Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services to enter into contracts, or by distributing
funds to State agencies and local governments to be administered as directed by the Commission.
(2) If the Consortium does not adopt a recommendation of the Commission, the Consortium shall provide a
written explanation of the decision and the Commission may revise that recommendation to the Consortium.
(3) The Consortium may not make a distribution from the Settlement Fund or Impact Fund without a
conforming recommendation from the Commission for the distribution.
(b) The disbursement of money from the Settlement Fund and the Impact Fund, distributed by the Consortium,
shall be made by the State Treasurer upon authorization by all of the following, on a form designed for this purpose by the
chair of the Consortium and the State Treasurer:
(1) The chair of the Consortium.
(2) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget.
(3) The Controller General.
(4) The co-chairs of the Joint Finance Committee.
(c) The Director of the Office of Management and Budget may waive the requirements under Chapter 69 of Title
29 for distributions made by the Consortium.
Section 6. Amend Chapter 37, Volume 82 of the Laws of Delaware by repealing Section 3 in its entirety.
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