Legal Authority: M.G.L Chapter 309 of the Acts of 2020
Full text of the Legislation:
https://malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2020/Chapter309
Summary
Membership
21 members or their designees:
- the secretary of health and human services, who shall serve as a non-voting chair;
- 1 person to be appointed by the senate president;
- 1 person to be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives;
- 1 person to be appointed by the minority leader of the senate;
- 1 person to be appointed by the minority leader of the house of representatives;
- 3 persons to be appointed by the governor,
- including not less than 1 person qualified by experience with opioid use disorder, either first-hand or as a family member of an individual with opioid use disorder;
- 3 persons to be appointed by the attorney general,
- including not less than 1 person qualified by experience with opioid use disorder, either first-hand or as a family member of an individual with opioid use disorder;
- 10 people to be appointed by the Massachusetts Municipal Association, Inc., who are officials employed by a city or town and who represent the diversity of the commonwealth’s cities and towns; provided, however, that not less than 2 officials appointed under this clause shall be employed by a city or town that is a gateway municipality, as defined in section 3A of chapter 23A; and provided, further, that no 2 officials appointed under this clause shall be employed by a city or town that is in the same county.
Meetings
The council shall hold no fewer than 4 meetings annually and the council shall make its recommendations upon a majority vote. The council shall be subject to sections 18 to 25, inclusive, of chapter 30A. The secretary of health and human services shall provide administrative support to the council.
Annual Report
Annually, not later than October 1, the secretary of health and human services shall file a report on the activity, revenue and expenditures to and from the fund in the prior fiscal year with the clerks of the senate and the house of representatives, the house and senate committees on ways and means and the joint committee on mental health, substance use and recovery and made available on the executive office of health and human services’ public website.
The report shall include, but not be limited to:
- revenue credited to the fund;
- amount of expenditures attributable to the administrative costs of the executive office;
- an itemized list of the funds expended from the fund;
- data and an assessment of how well resources have been directed to vulnerable and under-served communities.
Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund
Expenditures from the fund shall be made by the executive office of health and human services, without further appropriation and consistent with the terms of settlements made in connection with claims arising from the manufacture, marketing, distribution or dispensing of opioids, as applicable. The secretary of health and human services, in consultation with the Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund advisory council established in subsection, shall administer the fund.
The fund shall be expended to mitigate the impacts of the opioid epidemic in the commonwealth, including, but not limited to, expanding access to opioid use disorder prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery options. Amounts credited to the fund shall not be subject to further appropriation and monies remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not revert to the General Fund, but shall instead be available for expenditure during the next fiscal year. Any fiscal year-end balance in the fund shall be excluded from the calculation of the consolidated net surplus pursuant to section 5C of chapter 29.
There shall be credited to the fund:
- Amounts recovered by the commonwealth and credited thereto in connection with claims arising from the manufacture, marketing, distribution or dispensing of opioids;
- transfers from other funds authorized by the general court and so designated;
- funds from public or private sources, including, but not limited to, gifts, grants, donations, rebates and settlements received by the commonwealth designated to the fund;
- any interest earned on such amounts.