An Act To Reduce Morbidity and Mortality Related to Opioid Misuse
Sec. 1. 17-A MRSA §1111, as amended by PL 2007, c. 346, Pt. B, §4, is repealed.
Sec. 2. 17-A MRSA §1111-A, sub-§2, as enacted by PL 1981, c. 266, is amended to read:
Sec. 3. 17-A MRSA §1125 is enacted to read:
§ 1125. Exemption from criminal liability for person who seeks medical assistance
A person who experiences a drug overdose and is in need of medical assistance or a person acting in good faith who seeks medical assistance for another experiencing a drug overdose may not be arrested, prosecuted or incarcerated under section 1107-A, 1108 or 1111-A or chapter 49 if the grounds for the arrest, prosecution or incarceration were obtained as a result of the person's seeking medical assistance for the drug overdose.
Sec. 4. 17-A MRSA §1301, sub-§6, as amended by PL 2011, c. 464, §22, is further amended to read:
Sec. 5. 22 MRSA §2353, sub-§4, as corrected by RR 2015, c. 1, §19, is amended to read:
(1) Educate consumers about safe injection practices, including opioid overdose prevention;
(2) Provide referrals to additional services, including treatment and recovery services for persons with substance use disorders; and
(3) Collect and report basic demographic and service-level data derived from the services provided.
The department shall adopt rules to implement this subsection. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
Sec. 6. 22 MRSA §2383-B, sub-§6, as amended by PL 2015, c. 27, §1, is further amended to read:
Sec. 7. 32 MRSA §13787-A, sub-§3, ¶B, as enacted by PL 1993, c. 394, §2, is repealed.
Sec. 8. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and allocations are made.
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF
Syringe exchange programs
Initiative: Provides funds to support syringe exchange programs pursuant to the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 22, section 1341, subsection 4.
| GENERAL FUND | 2017-18 | 2018-19 |
|
All Other
|
$75,000 | $75,000 |
 |
|
|
| GENERAL FUND TOTAL | $75,000 | $75,000 |
Community-based overdose prevention programs
Initiative: Provides funds to support naloxone hydrochloride distribution through community-based overdose prevention programs under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 22, section 2353, subsection 4. The award of funds under this initiative for fiscal year 2017-18 must occur no later than 60 days after the effective date of this Act.
| GENERAL FUND | 2017-18 | 2018-19 |
|
All Other
|
$50,000 | $50,000 |
|
|
|
| GENERAL FUND TOTAL | $50,000 | $50,000 |
| HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF | ||
| DEPARTMENT TOTALS | 2017-18 | 2018-19 |
|
GENERAL FUND
|
$125,000 | $125,000 |
|
|
|
| DEPARTMENT TOTAL - ALL FUNDS | $125,000 | $125,000 |
summary
This bill:
1. Repeals the provision making possession of a hypodermic apparatus a crime;
2. Creates a medical assistance exemption from criminal liability, including arrest, prosecution or incarceration, for a person who seeks medical assistance for that person's self or another who experiences a drug overdose if the grounds for the arrest, prosecution or incarceration were obtained as a result of the person's seeking medical assistance;
3. Removes Department of Health and Human Services rule-making authority over establishing community-based drug overdose prevention programs and adds statutory criteria for the establishment of the programs; and
4. Appropriates to the Department of Health and Human Services $75,000 for syringe exchange programs and $50,000 for naloxone hydrochloride distribution through community-based drug prevention programs for each year of the current biennium.