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Replaces the phrase "deemed approved" with "deemed denied" in 21 U.S.C. 1703(c)(4)(A) (section 704(c)(4)(A) of the Office of National Drug Control Policy Reauthorization Act of 1998).
Adds a new subsection/section (titled "554 Accurate data on opioid-related overdoses") to Part D of title V of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 290dd et seq.) authorizing the Secretary to award grants to States, territories, and localities to improve data and surveillance on opioid-related overdoses (including postmortem toxicology testing, data linkage across data systems throughout the United States, electronic death reporting, and comprehensiveness of fatal and nonfatal opioid-related overdose data).
Inserts a new section (section 544A) into Title V of the Public Health Service Act after section 544, creating a grant program to reduce opioid overdose deaths in elementary and secondary schools and specifying application, certification, and definition requirements.
Amends paragraph (1) and paragraph (2) of 42 U.S.C. 290dd–3(c) by inserting text after specified locations; the specific text to be inserted is not included in this section text.
Strikes the phrase 'to carry out this section' and inserts 'to carry out this section and section 544A' in the authorization of appropriations.
Amends subsection (f) of 21 U.S.C. 862 by removing the terminal "or" in paragraph (1), replacing the period at the end of paragraph (2) with a semicolon and "and", and adding a new paragraph (3) that reads "fentanyl test strips."
Amends section 1003 of the 21st Century Cures Act (42 U.S.C. 290ee–3a) by (1) in subsection (f): modifying punctuation in paragraphs (2) and (3) and adding a new paragraph (4) requiring an assessment of recipients' challenges in addressing opioid misuse and use disorders and, as applicable, stimulant misuse and use disorders; and (2) in subsection (g): modifying the subsection heading and text to include technical assistance and adding a new paragraph (2) requiring best practices on how to address opioid-related overdoses.
Creates new grant programs and pilot projects to strengthen how the U.S. tracks and responds to opioid-related overdoses, expands tools for community-level drug monitoring, and requires operational reforms at the Office of National Drug Control Policy. It also authorizes grants so schools can keep emergency opioid‑overdose treatment supplies on site, updates state opioid‑response grant requirements, and explicitly names fentanyl test strips in federal controlled‑substances text.
Authorizes the Secretary to award grants to States, territories, and localities to support improved data and surveillance on opioid-related overdoses (new section 554) .
Allows grant funds to be used to improve postmortem toxicology testing related to opioid overdoses .
Allows grant funds to be used for data linkage across data systems throughout the United States to improve surveillance of opioid-related overdoses .
Allows grant funds to be used to support electronic death reporting systems to improve opioid overdose data collection .
Allows grant funds to be used to improve the comprehensiveness of data on both fatal and nonfatal opioid-related overdoses .
States, territories, and local public health agencies: Will be primary applicants and recipients for the overdose-data grants; they can use funds to upgrade toxicology, reporting systems, and link datasets. These changes should improve timeliness and completeness of overdose surveillance but will also require grant application work and possible matching administrative effort. Public health laboratories, medical examiners, and coroners: Likely to receive funding or face new standards for postmortem toxicology and death reporting; may need to upgrade capacity or adopt new data-submission formats. Schools and school districts: Eligible entities can apply for grants to stock drugs/devices and ensure trained personnel are available to treat suspected opioid overdoses; schools will need to prepare applications and meet certification requirements. Wastewater utilities and operators: Municipal wastewater treatment facilities can compete for pilot grants to conduct community-level drug monitoring; this creates a new data source but raises operational, privacy, and analytic considerations for utilities and local officials. ONDCP, HHS, DOJ, and other federal agencies: Required to coordinate more closely, develop national data standards, and reduce redundant funding—this will shift interagency workflows and may change how federal grants are structured and overseen. Harm-reduction providers and community programs: Explicit naming of fentanyl test strips and expanded surveillance/pilot monitoring could strengthen harm-reduction tools and data for targeting interventions; however, guidance on homicide classification of certain overdose deaths could affect coroners and law enforcement interactions with public-health responses. Communities and families affected by substance use: Improved data and pilot monitoring should inform targeted prevention and response efforts, potentially improving access to treatment and emergency response. Costs and funding: The bill authorizes programs but the provided text does not include appropriations; impact depends on future funding decisions. Administrative burden: Applicants (states, schools, wastewater facilities) will face application, reporting, and certification requirements that could be modest to significant depending on current capacity. Privacy and legal concerns: Expanded data linking and wastewater monitoring may raise questions about data privacy, legal protections, and community acceptance; inclusion of guidance on classifying overdoses as homicides could be controversial in some jurisdictions.
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Introduced February 24, 2025 by Richard Lynn Scott · Last progress February 24, 2025
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.
Introduced in Senate