What This Bill Does
This bill lets the Attorney General give grants to states, territories and local communities to collect better information about opioid overdose deaths. The bill also requires law enforcement agencies and forensic laboratories to share drug testing data in a standardized way so different jurisdictions can compare information.
Who It Affects
States, territories and local communities, local law enforcement agencies, forensic laboratories, Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers, the Drug Enforcement Administration and Congress.
Key Provisions
• The Attorney General can award grants to states, territories and localities to improve data collection on opioid overdoses, including better death testing, connecting data systems across the country and improving reporting on fatal and nonfatal overdoses (Sec. 2).
• Law enforcement agencies and forensic laboratories in communities with high drug overdose rates can receive grants to train officers to identify overdoses, upgrade systems for drug tracing and sample processing, and train officers to track criminals on the darknet (Sec. 3(a)).
• Agencies that receive grants must report overdose data to the National Forensic Laboratory Information System or they cannot use the grant money (Sec. 3(b)).
• The Drug Enforcement Administration must create uniform reporting standards for drug purity, formulation and weight so different jurisdictions can compare data (Sec. 4(a)).
• The Drug Enforcement Administration must request specific funding for the Fentanyl Signature Profiling Program as part of its yearly budget request to Congress (Sec. 5).
What Changes
Law enforcement agencies will be able to access grant funding to improve how they track and report drug overdose information. The Drug Enforcement Administration will develop consistent rules for how laboratories report drug testing data across the country.
Important Definitions
None defined in the bill text.
II
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 983
To permit the Attorney General to award grants for accurate date on opioid-
related overdoses, and for other purposes.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
MARCH 27, 2023
Mr. SCOTT of Florida (for himself and Mr. WELCH) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
A BILL
To permit the Attorney General to award grants for accurate
date on opioid-related overdoses, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
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tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
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This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Overcoming Prevalent
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Inadequacies in Overdose Information Data Sets Act’’ or
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the ‘‘OPIOIDS Act’’.
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SEC. 2. ACCURATE DATA ON OPIOID-RELATED OVERDOSES.
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The Attorney General may award grants to States,
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territories, and localities to support improved data and
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surveillance on opioid-related overdoses, including for ac-
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tivities to improve postmortem toxicology testing, data
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linkage across data systems throughout the United States,
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electronic death reporting, or the comprehensiveness of
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data on fatal and nonfatal opioid-related overdoses.
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SEC. 3. LAW ENFORCEMENT GRANTS.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—The Attorney General shall make
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grants to local law enforcement agencies and forensic lab-
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oratories in communities with high rates of drug overdoses
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for the purpose of—
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(1) training to help officers identify overdoses;
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(2) upgrading essential systems for tracing
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drugs and processing samples in forensic labora-
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tories to provide timely, accurate, and standard data
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reporting to the National Forensic Laboratory Infor-
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mation System; or
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(3) training to better trace criminals through
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the darknet.
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(b) MANDATORY REPORTING.—None of the funds
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made under subsection (a) may be used by grantees that
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do not submit to the National Forensic Laboratory Infor-
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mation System reports on overdose data.
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(c) FEDERAL LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING CEN-
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TERS.—Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers shall
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provide training to State and local law enforcement agen-
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cies on how to best coordinate with State and Federal
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partners for tracking drug-related activity.
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(d) COPS GRANTS.—Section 1701(b) of the Omni-
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bus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (34
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U.S.C. 10381) is amended—
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(1) in paragraph (22), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the
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end;
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(2) in paragraph (23), by striking the period at
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the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and
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(3) by adding at the end the following:
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‘‘(24) to provide training and resources for con-
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tainment devices to prevent secondary exposure to
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fentanyl and other substances for first responders.’’.
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SEC. 4. OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY RE-
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FORM.
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(a) IN GENERAL.—The Drug Enforcement Adminis-
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tration shall develop uniform reporting standards for
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inputting data into the National Forensic Laboratory In-
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formation System for purity, formulation, and weight to
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allow for better comparison across jurisdictions and be-
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tween agencies and the sharing of data.
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(b) CLARIFICATION.—Nothing in subsection (a) may
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be construed to require the creation of new or increased
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obligations or reporting requirements on State or local lab-
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oratories.
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SEC. 5. DEA TESTING.
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The Drug Enforcement Administration shall submit
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to Congress, as part of the annual budget process, a spe-
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cific line item for the level of funding necessary for the
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Fentanyl Signature Profiling Program.
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Æ
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