Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 5195 – Behavioral Health Consortium; Prescription Opioid Distribution …
(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.”
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 5195
- Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Director: means the Director of the Division of Public Health, or such persons as may be designated by the Director. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 101
- Division: means the Division of Public Health. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 101
- dollars: means lawful money of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
- Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
- Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
- State: means the State of Delaware; and when applied to different parts of the United States, it includes the District of Columbia and the several territories and possessions of the United States. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
- Year: means a calendar year, and is equivalent to the words "year of our Lord. See Delaware Code Title 1 Sec. 302
(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.
(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 moneys, 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 moneys 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 moneys 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 moneys by defendants in opioid-related litigation may provide a framework for how the moneys may be used to remediate the harm caused by the opioid crisis. The Commission must comply with all applicable terms when disbursing moneys 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 moneys 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.
(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 moneys received by the Prescription Opioid Settlement Fund.
b. The aggregate amount of moneys received by the Prescription Opioid Impact Fund.
c. By fund, the amounts and sources of any other moneys 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 to the Director and the Librarian of the Division of Research of Legislative Council and the Delaware Public Archives.
81 Del. Laws, c. 125, § ?1; 81 Del. Laws, c. 220, § 1; 83 Del. Laws, c. 243, § 5;