Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 5196A – Organization and composition of the Prescription Opioid Settlement …
(a) The Commission shall make recommendations to the Consortium regarding all distributions from the money in the Settlement Fund and the Impact Fund.
Terms Used In Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 5196A
- Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
- Caucus: From the Algonquian Indian language, a caucus meant "to meet together." An informal organization of members of the legislature that exists to discuss issues of mutual concern and possibly to perform legislative research and policy planning for its members. There are regional, political or ideological, ethnic, and economic-based caucuses.
- Department: means the Department of Health and Social Services except that Department means the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families in the context of a treatment facility serving minors. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 5181
- 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
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- President pro tempore: A constitutionally recognized officer of the Senate who presides over the chamber in the absence of the Vice President. The President Pro Tempore (or, "president for a time") is elected by the Senate and is, by custom, the Senator of the majority party with the longest record of continuous service.
- Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
- Secretary: means the Secretary of the Department of Health and Social Services or such persons as may be designated by the Secretary. See Delaware Code Title 16 Sec. 101
- 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) 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.
(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 this paragraph (b)(8)d., 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.
(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.
(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.