Opioid Prevention and Rehabilitation Act.

Existing law establishes the State Department of Public Health, which has authority over various programs promoting public health. Existing law requires the department, subject to an appropriation in the Budget Act of 2016, to award naloxone grant funding to local health departments, local government agencies, or other specified entities, in order to reduce the rate of fatal overdose from opioid drugs, including heroin and prescription opioids. Under existing law, the department licenses and regulates manufacturers of drugs or devices in this state, and the California State Board of Pharmacy licenses and regulates wholesalers of dangerous drugs or devices, as specified. This bill would, commencing with the 2021–22 fiscal year, require a manufacturer or wholesaler, as defined, that sells or distributes opioid drugs in this state to submit to the department a report, including specified information, that details all opioid drugs sold or distributed in this state during the preceding fiscal year, except as specified. The bill would, commencing with the 2021–22 fiscal year, require the department, in consultation with the board, to calculate the ratable share of a manufacturer or wholesaler, which is the individual portion of the collective sum of $50,000,000 or a lesser amount, as specified, to be paid by the manufacturers and wholesalers, based on the information reported, without double-counting the opioid drug if both a manufacturer and a wholesaler sold or distributed the drug in this state. The bill would subject the manufacturer and wholesaler to specified civil penalties for failing to comply with the reporting or payment requirements. The bill would require the deposit of the payments and penalties, less refunds and the department's administrative costs, into the continuously appropriated Opioid Prevention and Rehabilitation Program Fund, which the bill would create, thereby making an appropriation. The bill would require the department to distribute moneys in the fund to counties or local nonprofit community-based organizations for purposes of opioid prevention and rehabilitation programs. The bill would base the distribution of moneys on county needs, using only specified information relating to opioid overdose in the counties. The bill would require the department to report to the Legislature annually regarding recommendations for how the distributed moneys might be spent and how the distributed moneys were spent during the previous year. This bill would make these provisions inoperative on July 1, 2027, and would repeal them as of January 1, 2028. This bill would state that its provisions are severable. This bill would include a change in state statute that would result in a taxpayer paying a higher tax within the meaning of Section 3 of Article XIIIA of the California Constitution, and thus would require for passage the approval of 23 of the membership of each house of the Legislature. This bill would take effect immediately as a tax levy.