Vetoed by Governor Gavin Newsom

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to concur with house amendments and pass a bill that establishes safe injection sites for people to engage in their addictions, as a means of preventing overdoses.

Highlights:

• Specifies the intent of the Legislature in regards to overdose prevention programs (OPPs) as follows (Sec. 1):

• To evaluate the health impacts of OPPs in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Oakland as OPPs show great promise to save lives, enhance public safety, improve access to substance use disorder treatment, medical care, and related services, reduce emergency department and hospital utilization related to drug overdose, and reduce the human, social, and financial costs of the triple epidemics of drug misuse, homelessness, and COVID-19; and 

• To prevent fatal and nonfatal drug overdoses, reduce drug use by providing a pathway to drug treatment, as well as medical and social services for high-risk drug users, prevent the transmission of HIV and hepatitis C, reduce nuisance and public safety problems related to public use of controlled substances, and reduce emergency room use and hospital utilization related to drug use.

• Establishes that the City and County of San Francisco, the County of Los Angeles, and the City of Oakland may approve entities within their jurisdictions to establish and operate OPPs (Sec. 2).

• Requires that before approving an entity within its jurisdiction the City and County of San Francisco, the County of Los Angeles, or the City of Oakland shall provide local law enforcement officials, local public health officials, and the public with an opportunity to comment in a public meeting with the following prerequisites (Sec. 2):

• The notice of the meeting to the public shall be sufficient to ensure adequate participation in the meeting by the public; and

• The meeting shall be noticed by all state laws and local ordinances, and as local officials deem appropriate.

• Requires that for an entity to be approved to operate an OPP, the entity must adhere to and demonstrate the following (Sec. 2):

• Provide a hygienic space to consume controlled substances under the supervision of staff trained to prevent and treat drug overdoses;

• Provide sterile consumption supplies, collect used equipment, and provide secure hypodermic needle and syringe disposal services;

• Monitor participants for potential overdose and provide care as necessary to prevent fatal overdose;

• Provide access or referrals to substance use disorder treatment services, primary medical care, mental health services, and social services;

• Provide access or referrals to HIV and viral hepatitis prevention, education, testing, and treatment;

• Provide overdose prevention education and access to or referrals to obtain naloxone hydrochloride or another overdose reversal medication approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration;

• Educate participants regarding proper disposal of hypodermic needles and syringes and provide participants with approved biohazard containers for syringe disposal;

• Provide reasonable security of the program site;

• Establish operating procedures for the program including standard hours of operation, training standards for staff, a minimum number of personnel required to be onsite during those hours of operation, the maximum number of individuals who can be served at one time, an established relationship with the nearest emergency department of a general acute care hospital, and eligibility criteria for program participants;

• Establish and make public a good neighbor policy that facilitates communication from and to local businesses and residences to address any neighborhood concerns and complaints;

• Require that all staff present at the program during open hours be certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid;

• Require that all staff present at the program during open hours be authorized to provide emergency administration of an opioid antagonist, and be trained for the administration of an opioid antagonist in accordance to Section 1714.22 of the Civil Code; and

• Establish a plan for staff and workplace safety.

• Requires that an entity operating an OPP provides an annual report to the authorizing jurisdiction that includes all of the following (Sec 2.):

• The number of program participants;

• Aggregate information regarding the characteristics of program participants;

• The number of overdoses experienced and the number of overdoses reversed onsite; and 

• The number of persons referred to substance use disorder treatment, primary medical care, and other services.

• Establishes that a person or entity—including property owners, managers, employees, volunteers, clients or participants, and employees of the City and County of San Francisco, the County of Los Angeles, or the City of Oakland acting in the course and scope of employment—engaged in the activities of an OPP authorized by this section, under established protocols, and on the program site, will not be subject to any of the following (Sec. 2):

• Arrest, charge, or prosecution, including for attempt, aiding and abetting, or conspiracy to violate any of those sections, for an activity or be subjected to any civil conduct on the site of an OPP; and

• Civil or administrative penalty or liability or disciplinary action by a professional licensing board or for conduct relating to the approval of an entity to operate, inspection, licensing, or other regulation unless performed negligently.

• Specifies that this section will not limit the Medical Board of California or the Osteopathic Medical Board of California from taking administrative or disciplinary action against a licensee for any action, conduct, or omission related to the operation of an OPP that violates the Medical Practice Act following each board’s authority in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code (Sec. 2).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to amend and pass a bill that establishes safe injection sites for people to engage in their addictions, as a means of preventing overdoses.

Highlights:

• Specifies the intent of the Legislature in regards to overdose prevention programs (OPPs) as follows (Sec. 1):

• To evaluate the health impacts of OPPs in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Oakland as OPPs show great promise to save lives, enhance public safety, improve access to substance use disorder treatment, medical care, and related services, reduce emergency department and hospital utilization related to drug overdose, and reduce the human, social, and financial costs of the triple epidemics of drug misuse, homelessness, and COVID-19; and 

• To prevent fatal and nonfatal drug overdoses, reduce drug use by providing a pathway to drug treatment, as well as medical and social services for high-risk drug users, prevent the transmission of HIV and hepatitis C, reduce nuisance and public safety problems related to public use of controlled substances, and reduce emergency room use and hospital utilization related to drug use.

• Establishes that the City and County of San Francisco, the County of Los Angeles, and the City of Oakland may approve entities within their jurisdictions to establish and operate OPPs (Sec. 2).

• Requires that before approving an entity within its jurisdiction the City and County of San Francisco, the County of Los Angeles, or the City of Oakland shall provide local law enforcement officials, local public health officials, and the public with an opportunity to comment in a public meeting with the following prerequisites (Sec. 2):

• The notice of the meeting to the public shall be sufficient to ensure adequate participation in the meeting by the public; and

• The meeting shall be noticed by all state laws and local ordinances, and as local officials deem appropriate.

• Requires that for an entity to be approved to operate an OPP, the entity must adhere to and demonstrate the following (Sec. 2):

• Provide a hygienic space to consume controlled substances under the supervision of staff trained to prevent and treat drug overdoses;

• Provide sterile consumption supplies, collect used equipment, and provide secure hypodermic needle and syringe disposal services;

• Monitor participants for potential overdose and provide care as necessary to prevent fatal overdose;

• Provide access or referrals to substance use disorder treatment services, primary medical care, mental health services, and social services;

• Provide access or referrals to HIV and viral hepatitis prevention, education, testing, and treatment;

• Provide overdose prevention education and access to or referrals to obtain naloxone hydrochloride or another overdose reversal medication approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration;

• Educate participants regarding proper disposal of hypodermic needles and syringes and provide participants with approved biohazard containers for syringe disposal;

• Provide reasonable security of the program site;

• Establish operating procedures for the program including standard hours of operation, training standards for staff, a minimum number of personnel required to be onsite during those hours of operation, the maximum number of individuals who can be served at one time, an established relationship with the nearest emergency department of a general acute care hospital, and eligibility criteria for program participants;

• Establish and make public a good neighbor policy that facilitates communication from and to local businesses and residences to address any neighborhood concerns and complaints;

• Require that all staff present at the program during open hours be certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid;

• Require that all staff present at the program during open hours be authorized to provide emergency administration of an opioid antagonist, and be trained for the administration of an opioid antagonist in accordance to Section 1714.22 of the Civil Code; and

• Establish a plan for staff and workplace safety.

• Requires that an entity operating an OPP provides an annual report to the authorizing jurisdiction that includes all of the following (Sec 2.):

• The number of program participants;

• Aggregate information regarding the characteristics of program participants;

• The number of overdoses experienced and the number of overdoses reversed onsite; and 

• The number of persons referred to substance use disorder treatment, primary medical care, and other services.

• Establishes that a person or entity—including property owners, managers, employees, volunteers, clients or participants, and employees of the City and County of San Francisco, the County of Los Angeles, or the City of Oakland acting in the course and scope of employment—engaged in the activities of an OPP authorized by this section, under established protocols, and on the program site, will not be subject to any of the following (Sec. 2):

• Arrest, charge, or prosecution, including for attempt, aiding and abetting, or conspiracy to violate any of those sections, for an activity or be subjected to any civil conduct on the site of an OPP; and

• Civil or administrative penalty or liability or disciplinary action by a professional licensing board or for conduct relating to the approval of an entity to operate, inspection, licensing, or other regulation unless performed negligently.

• Specifies that this section will not limit the Medical Board of California or the Osteopathic Medical Board of California from taking administrative or disciplinary action against a licensee for any action, conduct, or omission related to the operation of an OPP that violates the Medical Practice Act following each board’s authority in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code (Sec. 2).

Full Bill Text

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that establishes safe injection sites for people to engage in their addictions, as a means of preventing overdoses.

Highlights:

• Specifies the intent of the Legislature in regards to overdose prevention programs (OPPs) as follows (Sec. 1):

• To evaluate the health impacts of OPPs in San Francisco, Los Angeles, Oakland as OPPs show great promise to save lives, enhance public safety, improve access to substance use disorder treatment, medical care, and related services, reduce emergency department and hospital utilization related to drug overdose, and reduce the human, social, and financial costs of the triple epidemics of drug misuse, homelessness, and COVID-19; and 

• To prevent fatal and nonfatal drug overdoses, reduce drug use by providing a pathway to drug treatment, as well as medical and social services for high-risk drug users, prevent the transmission of HIV and hepatitis C, reduce nuisance and public safety problems related to public use of controlled substances, and reduce emergency room use and hospital utilization related to drug use.

• Establishes that the City and County of San Francisco, the County of Los Angeles, and the City of Oakland may approve entities within their jurisdictions to establish and operate OPPs (Sec. 2).

• Requires that before approving an entity within its jurisdiction the City and County of San Francisco, the County of Los Angeles, or the City of Oakland shall provide local law enforcement officials, local public health officials, and the public with an opportunity to comment in a public meeting with the following prerequisites (Sec. 2):

• The notice of the meeting to the public shall be sufficient to ensure adequate participation in the meeting by the public; and

• The meeting shall be noticed by all state laws and local ordinances, and as local officials deem appropriate.

• Requires that for an entity to be approved to operate an OPP, the entity must adhere to and demonstrate the following (Sec. 2):

• Provide a hygienic space to consume controlled substances under the supervision of staff trained to prevent and treat drug overdoses;

• Provide sterile consumption supplies, collect used equipment, and provide secure hypodermic needle and syringe disposal services;

• Monitor participants for potential overdose and provide care as necessary to prevent fatal overdose;

• Provide access or referrals to substance use disorder treatment services, primary medical care, mental health services, and social services;

• Provide access or referrals to HIV and viral hepatitis prevention, education, testing, and treatment;

• Provide overdose prevention education and access to or referrals to obtain naloxone hydrochloride or another overdose reversal medication approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration;

• Educate participants regarding proper disposal of hypodermic needles and syringes and provide participants with approved biohazard containers for syringe disposal;

• Provide reasonable security of the program site;

• Establish operating procedures for the program including standard hours of operation, training standards for staff, a minimum number of personnel required to be onsite during those hours of operation, the maximum number of individuals who can be served at one time, an established relationship with the nearest emergency department of a general acute care hospital, and eligibility criteria for program participants;

• Establish and make public a good neighbor policy that facilitates communication from and to local businesses and residences to address any neighborhood concerns and complaints;

• Require that all staff present at the program during open hours be certified in cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and first aid;

• Require that all staff present at the program during open hours be authorized to provide emergency administration of an opioid antagonist, and be trained for the administration of an opioid antagonist in accordance to Section 1714.22 of the Civil Code; and

• Establish a plan for staff and workplace safety.

• Requires that an entity operating an OPP provides an annual report to the authorizing jurisdiction that includes all of the following (Sec 2.):

• The number of program participants;

• Aggregate information regarding the characteristics of program participants;

• The number of overdoses experienced and the number of overdoses reversed onsite; and 

• The number of persons referred to substance use disorder treatment, primary medical care, and other services.

• Establishes that a person or entity—including property owners, managers, employees, volunteers, clients or participants, and employees of the City and County of San Francisco, the County of Los Angeles, or the City of Oakland acting in the course and scope of employment—engaged in the activities of an OPP authorized by this section, under established protocols, and on the program site, will not be subject to any of the following (Sec. 2):

• Arrest, charge, or prosecution, including for attempt, aiding and abetting, or conspiracy to violate any of those sections, for an activity or be subjected to any civil conduct on the site of an OPP; and

• Civil or administrative penalty or liability or disciplinary action by a professional licensing board or for conduct relating to the approval of an entity to operate, inspection, licensing, or other regulation unless performed negligently.

• Specifies that this section will not limit the Medical Board of California or the Osteopathic Medical Board of California from taking administrative or disciplinary action against a licensee for any action, conduct, or omission related to the operation of an OPP that violates the Medical Practice Act following each board’s authority in Chapter 5 (commencing with Section 2000) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code (Sec. 2).

Full Bill Text