Harm Reduction Through Community Engagement Act of 2023

I 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 Com- mittee 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 juris- diction 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 en- sure such programs are treating patients in need, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Harm Reduction 4 Through Community Engagement Act of 2023’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2804.IH H2804 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2804 IH SEC. 2. OPIOID TREATMENT PROGRAM REGISTRATION RE- 1 QUIREMENTS. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (1) of section 303(h) 3 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 823(h)) is 4 amended— 5 (1) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘and’’ at 6 the end; 7 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking the period 8 at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 9 (3) by adding at the end the following: 10 ‘‘(D) if the Secretary determines that— 11 ‘‘(i) the applicant will address community 12 impacts in accordance with paragraph (3); 13 ‘‘(ii) the treatment will not be provided 14 within one-half mile of a public or private li- 15 censed day care center, a public or private ele- 16 mentary or secondary school, a learning center, 17 a playground, or another drug treatment facil- 18 ity or program; 19 ‘‘(iii) the applicant justifies patient need 20 for the treatment in the community involved; 21 ‘‘(iv) the applicant will actively promote 22 the use of telehealth so as to minimize the need 23 for patients to physically appear for treatment; 24 ‘‘(v) the applicant will designate a commu- 25 nity liaison responsible for developing and 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2804.IH H2804 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2804 IH maintaining cooperative relationships with local 1 elected officials, local law enforcement, and 2 local community-based organizations including 3 nonprofit organizations that provide social serv- 4 ices; 5 ‘‘(vi) the applicant will work with a cus- 6 tomer relationship management system of the 7 local government (or establish and operate a 8 customer relationship management system if 9 none exists) to track and report data on the 10 number of service requests received by such sys- 11 tem pertaining to drug abuse and treatment in 12 the community involved; and 13 ‘‘(vii) the applicant will report to the Sec- 14 retary treatment performance measurement 15 data, including data concerning— 16 ‘‘(I) how many patients seek effective 17 long-term addiction treatment; and 18 ‘‘(II) the effectiveness of the use of 19 telehealth in patient treatment plans, in- 20 cluding how many patients are using tele- 21 health and the outcomes or progress of 22 such patients.’’. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2804.IH H2804 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2804 IH (b) COMMUNITY IMPACT CONSIDERATION.—Section 1 303(h) of the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 2 823(h)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 3 ‘‘(3) COMMUNITY IMPACT CONSIDERATION.—For 4 purposes of being determined to be qualified under para- 5 graph (1)(A), a practitioner seeking to become registered 6 or maintain registration under paragraph (1) to dispense 7 narcotic drugs to individuals for maintenance treatment 8 or detoxification treatment shall comply with each of the 9 following: 10 ‘‘(A) The practitioner shall— 11 ‘‘(i) conduct outreach to the community in- 12 volved concerning the practitioner’s treatment 13 program; and 14 ‘‘(ii) in conducting such outreach, give no- 15 tice to community stakeholders including com- 16 munity boards, tenant associations, outpatient 17 treatment centers, health care providers, com- 18 munity-based nonprofit organizations that pro- 19 vide opioid prevention and treatment services, 20 and such other community stakeholders as may 21 be determined by the Secretary. 22 ‘‘(B) The practitioner— 23 ‘‘(i) shall develop and implement a neigh- 24 borhood engagement plan that outlines the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2804.IH H2804 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2804 IH practitioner’s engagement with stakeholders re- 1 ferred to in subparagraph (A)(ii) in the geo- 2 graphic location in which the opioid treatment 3 program is located; and 4 ‘‘(ii) may include in such plan a descrip- 5 tion of the practitioner’s engagement with 6 stakeholders, including homeowners associa- 7 tions, school administrators, neighboring busi- 8 nesses, community organizations, local councils, 9 and law enforcement agencies. 10 ‘‘(C) The practitioner shall— 11 ‘‘(i) establish and maintain a community 12 advisory board; and 13 ‘‘(ii) include in the membership of such 14 board volunteers from various stakeholder 15 groups who represent the positions of the com- 16 munity. 17 ‘‘(D) The practitioner— 18 ‘‘(i) shall develop and implement a commu- 19 nity relations plan to measure and minimize the 20 negative impacts of the treatment program on 21 the community; and 22 ‘‘(ii) may include in such plan— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2804.IH H2804 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2804 IH ‘‘(I) policies and procedures to resolve 1 community problems, including loitering 2 and the blocking of pedestrian pathways; 3 ‘‘(II) procedures to consider commu- 4 nity input and impact; and 5 ‘‘(III) a procedure to escalate and 6 solve the quality-of-life issues in the sur- 7 rounding blocks such as open air drug 8 trading, uncapped needles disposed in pub- 9 lic walkways, and open drug use.’’. 10 (c) REPORTING TO CONGRESS.—Section 303(h) of 11 the Controlled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 823(h)), as 12 amended, is further amended by adding at the end the 13 following: 14 ‘‘(4) REPORTING TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 1 15 year after the date of enactment of the Harm Reduction 16 Through Community Engagement Act of 2023, and annu- 17 ally thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Congress 18 a comprehensive report on community engagement and 19 the maintenance of clinics in connection with maintenance 20 treatment or detoxification treatment provided pursuant 21 to this subsection, including— 22 ‘‘(A) treatment performance measurement data; 23 ‘‘(B) guidance on best practices for sustaining 24 community engagement; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2804.IH H2804 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2804 IH ‘‘(C) policy recommendations for sustaining 1 community engagement.’’. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:15 Apr 28, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H2804.IH H2804 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS