Florida Senate - 2019 SB 1658
By Senator Simpson
10-01387A-19 20191658__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to the Statewide Task Force on Opioid
3 Drug Abuse; creating s. 381.888, F.S.; creating the
4 Statewide Task Force on Opioid Drug Abuse for a
5 specified purpose; providing for the membership of the
6 task force; providing for reimbursement of per diem
7 and travel expenses for members; requiring the
8 Department of Legal Affairs to provide the task force
9 with necessary staff; requiring the task force to hold
10 an organizational session before a specified date and
11 quarterly meetings thereafter; authorizing the chair
12 to call for additional meetings in extraordinary
13 circumstances; specifying duties of the task force;
14 requiring the task force to submit reports to the
15 Legislature by specified dates; providing an effective
16 date.
17
18 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
19
20 Section 1. Section 381.888, Florida Statutes, is created to
21 read:
22 381.888 Statewide Task Force on Opioid Drug Abuse.—
23 (1)(a) There is created adjunct to the Department of Legal
24 Affairs the Statewide Task Force on Opioid Drug Abuse, a task
25 force as defined in s. 20.03. The task force is created for the
26 purpose of researching opioid drug abuse, evaluating effective
27 strategies for education, interdiction, arrest, prosecution,
28 treatment and prevention, and providing policy recommendations
29 to the Legislature.
30 (b) The task force shall consist of the following members,
31 or their designees:
32 1. One representative appointed by the Attorney General,
33 who shall serve as chair.
34 2. One representative appointed by the Surgeon General, who
35 shall serve as vice chair.
36 3. One representative appointed by the Commissioner of
37 Education.
38 4. One representative appointed by the Commissioner of the
39 Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
40 5. One representative appointed by the Secretary of
41 Children and Family Services.
42 6. One representative appointed by the Secretary of Health
43 Care Administration.
44 7. One representative appointed by the Secretary of
45 Corrections.
46 8. One representative appointed by the Secretary of
47 Juvenile Justice.
48 9. One representative appointed by the President of the
49 Senate.
50 10. One representative appointed by the Speaker of the
51 House of Representatives.
52 11. Two sheriffs appointed by the Attorney General.
53 12. Two police chiefs appointed by the Attorney General.
54 13. Two state attorneys appointed by the Attorney General.
55 14. Two public defenders appointed by the Attorney General.
56 15. One representative appointed by the State Courts
57 Administrator.
58 16. Three representatives from addiction and recovery
59 associations appointed by the Attorney General, each from
60 different geographic areas of the state.
61 17. One representative of the Florida Medical Association.
62 18. One representative of the Florida Pharmacy Association.
63 19. One representative of the insurance industry appointed
64 by the Insurance Commissioner.
65 (c) Members of the task force are entitled to receive
66 reimbursement for per diem and travel expenses in accordance
67 with s. 112.061.
68 (d) The Department of Legal Affairs shall provide the task
69 force with staff necessary to assist the task force in the
70 performance of its duties.
71 (2) The task force shall hold an organizational session by
72 July 15, 2019. Thereafter, the task force shall meet at least
73 four times per year. Additional meetings may be held if the
74 chair determines that extraordinary circumstances require an
75 additional meeting. A majority of the members of the task force
76 constitutes a quorum.
77 (3) The task force shall do all of the following:
78 (a) Collect and organize data concerning the nature and
79 extent of opioid drug abuse in this state, including, but not
80 limited to, the overdose death rate, neonatal abstinence
81 syndrome statistics, the Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey,
82 Automated Reports and Consolidated Ordering System data, and
83 United States Drug Enforcement Administration seizure data for
84 opioids, including fentanyl and synthetic fentanyl.
85 (b) Collect and organize data concerning the current costs
86 to state and local governments associated with the interdiction,
87 prosecution, incarceration, education, monitoring, and treatment
88 of opioid abuse and misuse in this state.
89 (c) Identify available federal, state, and local programs
90 that provide services to combat opioid drug abuse.
91 (d) Identify and evaluate best practices for the treatment
92 of opioid drug abuse.
93 (e) Identify and evaluate the sources of opioids being
94 abused and misused and causes of opioid drug abuse.
95 (f) Identify whether there is any need for additional
96 regulatory activity, including scheduling or emergency
97 scheduling, of synthetic opioid derivatives including synthetic
98 fentanyl derivatives.
99 (g) Identify and evaluate ways to reduce the demand for
100 opioids, including, but not limited to, alternative pain
101 management that does not involve the use of opioids.
102 (h) Identify and evaluate ways to reduce the availability
103 of opioids to opioid drug abusers, including increased
104 monitoring, expanded interdiction, and cooperation among law
105 enforcement agencies at all levels.
106 (i) Identify and evaluate training and resources needed by
107 law enforcement officers to deal with users and addicts of
108 opioid drugs.
109 (j) Identify and evaluate best practices for law
110 enforcement encounters with arrestees and others suffering from
111 opioid addiction.
112 (k) Identify and evaluate best practices for treating
113 arrestees in custody suffering from opioid addiction.
114 (l) Identify and evaluate alternatives to conviction or
115 incarceration for arrestees suffering from opioid addiction.
116 (m) Identify and evaluate programs and protocols for
117 consideration and use with inmates suffering from opioid
118 addiction.
119 (n) Identify and evaluate programs for dealing with minors
120 suffering from opioid drug abuse and addiction.
121 (o) Identify and evaluate educational programs for
122 children, young adults, and adults on the dangers of opioid
123 abuse and misuse.
124 (p) Evaluate methods to increase public awareness of the
125 dangers of opioid abuse and misuse.
126 (q) Develop a list of projects and priorities to be funded
127 by the Legislature or from other sources, including the proceeds
128 arising from any judgments or settlements with opioid
129 manufacturers, distributors, or others related to opioid drug
130 abuse.
131 (4) At the chair’s direction, the task force may break into
132 subcommittees or small groups that must present their findings
133 to the task force as a whole.
134 (5) The task force shall submit interim reports to the
135 President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
136 Representatives by December 1, 2020, and January 15, 2021, and
137 shall submit a final report of its recommendations to the
138 President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
139 Representatives by December 1, 2022.
140 Section 2. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.