[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2804 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2804
To amend the Controlled Substances Act with respect to the registration
of opioid treatment programs to increase stakeholder input from
relevant communities and to ensure such programs are treating patients
in need, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 24, 2023
Mr. Espaillat introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on
the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Controlled Substances Act with respect to the registration
of opioid treatment programs to increase stakeholder input from
relevant communities and to ensure such programs are treating patients
in need, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Harm Reduction Through Community
Engagement Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. OPIOID TREATMENT PROGRAM REGISTRATION REQUIREMENTS.
(a) In General.--Paragraph (1) of section 303(h) of the Controlled
Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 823(h)) is amended--
(1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period at the end
and inserting ``; and''; and
(3) by adding at the end the following:
``(D) if the Secretary determines that--
``(i) the applicant will address community impacts
in accordance with paragraph (3);
``(ii) the treatment will not be provided within
one-half mile of a public or private licensed day care
center, a public or private elementary or secondary
school, a learning center, a playground, or another
drug treatment facility or program;
``(iii) the applicant justifies patient need for
the treatment in the community involved;
``(iv) the applicant will actively promote the use
of telehealth so as to minimize the need for patients
to physically appear for treatment;
``(v) the applicant will designate a community
liaison responsible for developing and maintaining
cooperative relationships with local elected officials,
local law enforcement, and local community-based
organizations including nonprofit organizations that
provide social services;
``(vi) the applicant will work with a customer
relationship management system of the local government
(or establish and operate a customer relationship
management system if none exists) to track and report
data on the number of service requests received by such
system pertaining to drug abuse and treatment in the
community involved; and
``(vii) the applicant will report to the Secretary
treatment performance measurement data, including data
concerning--
``(I) how many patients seek effective
long-term addiction treatment; and
``(II) the effectiveness of the use of
telehealth in patient treatment plans,
including how many patients are using
telehealth and the outcomes or progress of such
patients.''.
(b) Community Impact Consideration.--Section 303(h) of the
Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 823(h)) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
``(3) Community Impact Consideration.--For purposes of being
determined to be qualified under paragraph (1)(A), a practitioner
seeking to become registered or maintain registration under paragraph
(1) to dispense narcotic drugs to individuals for maintenance treatment
or detoxification treatment shall comply with each of the following:
``(A) The practitioner shall--
``(i) conduct outreach to the community involved
concerning the practitioner's treatment program; and
``(ii) in conducting such outreach, give notice to
community stakeholders including community boards,
tenant associations, outpatient treatment centers,
health care providers, community-based nonprofit
organizations that provide opioid prevention and
treatment services, and such other community
stakeholders as may be determined by the Secretary.
``(B) The practitioner--
``(i) shall develop and implement a neighborhood
engagement plan that outlines the practitioner's
engagement with stakeholders referred to in
subparagraph (A)(ii) in the geographic location in
which the opioid treatment program is located; and
``(ii) may include in such plan a description of
the practitioner's engagement with stakeholders,
including homeowners associations, school
administrators, neighboring businesses, community
organizations, local councils, and law enforcement
agencies.
``(C) The practitioner shall--
``(i) establish and maintain a community advisory
board; and
``(ii) include in the membership of such board
volunteers from various stakeholder groups who
represent the positions of the community.
``(D) The practitioner--
``(i) shall develop and implement a community
relations plan to measure and minimize the negative
impacts of the treatment program on the community; and
``(ii) may include in such plan--
``(I) policies and procedures to resolve
community problems, including loitering and the
blocking of pedestrian pathways;
``(II) procedures to consider community
input and impact; and
``(III) a procedure to escalate and solve
the quality-of-life issues in the surrounding
blocks such as open air drug trading, uncapped
needles disposed in public walkways, and open
drug use.''.
(c) Reporting to Congress.--Section 303(h) of the Controlled
Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 823(h)), as amended, is further amended by
adding at the end the following:
``(4) Reporting to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the date
of enactment of the Harm Reduction Through Community Engagement Act of
2023, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the
Congress a comprehensive report on community engagement and the
maintenance of clinics in connection with maintenance treatment or
detoxification treatment provided pursuant to this subsection,
including--
``(A) treatment performance measurement data;
``(B) guidance on best practices for sustaining community
engagement; and
``(C) policy recommendations for sustaining community
engagement.''.
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