(1) (a) Notwithstanding section 2-3-303.3, there is hereby created the opioid and other substance use disorders study committee. The committee consists of ten members of the general assembly as follows:
Five members of the senate, with three members appointed by the president of thesenate and two members appointed by the minority leader of the senate; and
Five members of the house of representatives, with three members appointed by thespeaker of the house of representatives and two members appointed by the minority leader of the house of representatives.
(b) The speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint the chair of the committee in the 2023 interim and the vice-chair in the 2021 interim, and the president of the senate shall appoint the chair of the committee in the 2021 interim and the vice-chair in the 2023 interim.
(2) The committee shall:
Study data, data analytics, and statistics on the scope of the substance use disorderproblem in Colorado, including trends in rates of substance abuse, treatment admissions, and deaths from substance use;
Study the current prevention, intervention, harm reduction, treatment, and recoveryresources, including substance abuse prevention outreach and education, available to Coloradans, as well as public and private insurance coverage and other sources of support for treatment and recovery resources;
Review the availability of medication-assisted treatment and whether pharmacistscan prescribe those medications through the development of collaborative pharmacy practice agreements with physicians;
Examine the measures that other states, the United States government, and othercountries use to address substance use disorders, including evidence-based best practices and the use of evidence in determining strategies to treat substance use disorders, and best practices on the use of prescription drug monitoring programs;
Identify the gaps in prevention, intervention, harm reduction, treatment, and recoveryresources available to Coloradans and hurdles to accessing those resources;
Identify possible legislative options to address gaps and hurdles to accessing prevention, intervention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery resources;
Examine law enforcement and criminal justice measures, including the prohibition ofillegal drugs, penalties for trafficking illegal drugs, diversion, jail-based and prison-based treatment and reduction programs, and technologies and other requirements useful in enforcing laws removing opioid and other illegal substances;
During the 2021 interim, study the relationship between mental health conditions andsubstance use disorders and examine treatment modalities that best serve individuals with cooccurring mental health conditions and substance use disorders, including the benefits of integrated services; and
During the 2021 interim, study the impact of COVID-19, the coronavirus diseasecaused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, also known as SARS-CoV-2, on the provision of prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery support services, and related behavioral health services, including the impact related to the opioid crisis and drug overdoses, and prepare legislative recommendations for the general assembly for addressing the impacts.
(3) (a) The committee may meet in the 2021 and 2023 interims up to six times per interim. The committee may recommend up to a total of five bills during each interim. Legislation recommended by the committee must be treated as legislation recommended by an interim committee for purposes of applicable deadlines, bill introduction limits, and any other requirements imposed by the joint rules of the general assembly.
(b) By December 1, 2021, and December 1, 2023, the committee shall make a report and a final report, respectively, to the legislative council created in section 2-3-301 that may include recommendations for legislation.
(4) (a) Members of the committee are entitled to receive the usual per diem and necessary travel and subsistence expenses as provided pursuant to section 2-2-307 for members of the general assembly who attend interim committee meetings.
(b) The director of research of the legislative council and the director of the office of legislative legal services shall provide staff assistance to the committee.
Source: L. 2018: Entire article added, (HB 18-1003), ch. 224, p. 1425, § 1, effective May 21. L. 2020: IP(1)(a), (1)(b), (2)(f), and (3) amended and (2)(h) and (2)(i) added, (SB 20028), ch. 186, p. 852, § 1, effective June 30.