SF 4555

Introduction - 91st Legislature (2019 - 2020)

Posted on 05/05/2020 07:38 a.m.

A bill for an act
relating to health; clarifying the grants to be awarded by the commissioner of
human services from the opiate epidemic response fund; appropriating money;
amending Minnesota Statutes 2019 Supplement, section 256.042, subdivisions 4,
5.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2019 Supplement, section 256.042, subdivision 4, is amended
to read:

Subd. 4.

Grants.

(a) The commissioner of human services shall submit a report of the
grants proposed by the advisory council to be awarded for the upcoming fiscal year to the
chairs and ranking minority members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over
health and human services policy and finance, by March 1 of each year, beginning March
1, deleted text begin 2020 deleted text end new text begin 2021 new text end .

(b) The commissioner of human services shall award grants from the opiate epidemic
response account under section 256.043. The grants shall be awarded to proposals selected
by the advisory council that address the priorities in subdivision 1, paragraph (a), clauses
(1) to (4), unless otherwise appropriated by the legislature. No more than three percent of
the grant amount may be used by a grantee for administration. new text begin No grants shall be awarded
to proposals that were not included in the report submitted to the legislature under paragraph
(a) unless appropriated by the legislature.
new text end

new text begin (c) Notwithstanding paragraph (b) and section 256.043, subdivision 3, paragraph (c), if
the commissioner of human services fails to submit the report by March 1 as required in
paragraph (a) the appropriation to the commissioner for the upcoming fiscal year as specified
in section 256.043, subdivision 3, paragraph (c), shall not occur and the amount that was
to be appropriated to the commissioner to be awarded as grants shall be appropriated by the
legislature.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective retroactively from February 29, 2020.
new text end

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2019 Supplement, section 256.042, subdivision 5, is amended
to read:

Subd. 5.

Reports.

(a) The advisory council shall report annually to the chairs and ranking
minority members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over health and human
services policy and finance by January 31 of each year, beginning January 31, deleted text begin 2021 deleted text end new text begin 2022 new text end .
The report shall include information about the individual projects that receive grants and
the overall role of the project in addressing the opioid addiction and overdose epidemic in
Minnesota. The report must describe the grantees and the activities implemented, along
with measurable outcomes as determined by the council in consultation with the
commissioner of human services and the commissioner of management and budget. At a
minimum, the report must include information about the number of individuals who received
information or treatment, the outcomes the individuals achieved, and demographic
information about the individuals participating in the project; an assessment of the progress
toward achieving statewide access to qualified providers and comprehensive treatment and
recovery services; and an update on the evaluations implemented by the commissioner of
management and budget for the promising practices and theory-based projects that receive
funding.

(b) The commissioner of management and budget, in consultation with the Opiate
Epidemic Response Advisory Council, shall report to the chairs and ranking minority
members of the legislative committees with jurisdiction over health and human services
policy and finance when an evaluation study described in subdivision 1, paragraph (c), is
complete on the promising practices or theory-based projects that are selected for evaluation
activities. The report shall include demographic information; outcome information for the
individuals in the program; the results for the program in promoting recovery, employment,
family reunification, and reducing involvement with the criminal justice system; and other
relevant outcomes determined by the commissioner of management and budget that are
specific to the projects that are evaluated. The report shall include information about the
ability of grant programs to be scaled to achieve the statewide results that the grant project
demonstrated.

(c) The advisory council, in its annual report to the legislature under paragraph (a) due
by January 31, 2024, shall include recommendations on whether the appropriations to the
specified entities under Laws 2019, chapter 63, should be continued, adjusted, or
discontinued; whether funding should be appropriated for other purposes related to opioid
abuse prevention, education, and treatment; and on the appropriate level of funding for
existing and new uses.

Sec. 3. new text begin APPROPRIATION; FISCAL YEAR 2021.
new text end

new text begin (a) Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes, sections 256.042 and 256.043, subdivision 3,
paragraph (c), $3,703,000 in fiscal year 2021 is appropriated from the Opiate Epidemic
Response Fund to the commissioner of human services to award as grants to the state
recipients of opioid response grants received from the federal state opioid response program
in accordance with paragraphs (b) and (c). The grants under this section shall be added to
the grants awarded in December 2019 and the duration of the grants shall be extended to
allow expenditure of the additional funding.
new text end

new text begin (b) For the appropriation described in paragraph (a):
new text end

new text begin (1) $2,281,000 shall be awarded to grantees in the category of medication-assisted
treatment expansion and recovery resources. The additional grant funding shall be allocated
to each grantee according to each grantee's proportion of the total grants for
medication-assisted treatment expansion and recovery resources in the December 2019
grants;
new text end

new text begin (2) $324,000 shall be awarded to grantees in the category of increasing the treatment
workforce. The additional grant funding shall be allocated to each grantee according to each
grantee's proportion of the total grants for increasing the treatment workforce in the December
2019 grants;
new text end

new text begin (3) $328,000 shall be awarded to grantees in the category of naloxone training and
distribution. The additional grant funding shall be allocated to each grantee according to
each grantee's proportion of the total grants for naloxone training and distribution in the
December 2019 grants;
new text end

new text begin (4) $328,000 shall be awarded to grantees in the category of expanding the availability
of medication-assisted therapy. The additional grant funding shall be allocated to each
grantee according to each grantee's proportion of the total grants for expanding the availability
of medication-assisted therapy in the December 2019 grants; and
new text end

new text begin (5) $442,000 shall be awarded to grantees in the category of innovative response to
Minnesota's opioid epidemic. The additional grant funding shall be allocated to each grantee
according to each grantee's proportion of the total grants for innovative response to
Minnesota's opioid epidemic in the December 2019 grants.
new text end

new text begin (c) If the commissioner determines that a grant awarded in December 2019 was for a
proposal that was fully funded and required only onetime funding, the commissioner may
allocate the portion of funding that would have gone to that grant among the other grantees
in the same category of funding. If an entire category of funding was fully funded and
required only onetime funding, the commissioner may allocate the funding for that category
among the other categories according to the proportion of each category relative to the total
appropriation in paragraph (a).
new text end