Requires facilities that provide treatment for substance use disorders to have at least one practitioner qualified to administer or prescribe buprenorphine to individuals in their care with substance use disorders related to opioids.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A705B
SPONSOR: Rosenthal L
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to the availability
of buprenorphine in opioid treatment programs
 
PURPOSE:
This bill relates to the availability of buprenorphine in opioid treat-
ment programs.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section one amends the mental hygiene law by adding a new section 32.12.
Section two establishes the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
New York State is working to build out a comprehensive harm reduction
infrastructure to combat the opioid epidemic, with the goal of making
treatment available on demand to people in every region. While the state
works to diversify the treatment models it supports, we must ensure that
the gold standard of harm reduction treatment - access to buprenorphine
- is offered at every opioid treatment program statewide.
This legislation requires that all providers of chemical dependence
services have at least one practitioner on staff that is able to admin-
ister buprenorphine. The most critical objective of any treatment facil-
ity is keeping their patients alive, and guaranteed access to buprenor-
phine is a vital step in achieving this goal.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2019-20: A3953 - Referred to Alcoholism and Drug Abuse
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Undetermined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one Hundred twentieth day after it
shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment
and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation
of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
completed on or before such effective date.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
705--B
2021-2022 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 6, 2021
___________
Introduced by M. of A. L. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee -- reported and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means --
recommitted to the Committee on Ways and Means in accordance with
Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered
reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to the availability
of buprenorphine in opioid treatment programs
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. The mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new section
2 32.12 to read as follows:
3 § 32.12 Availability of buprenorphine.
4 Every facility licensed or authorized to provide services for
5 substance use disorders related to opioids that employs a qualified
6 practitioner, as determined by federal law, shall ensure at least one
7 practitioner in the facility has received an appropriate waiver and/or
8 has completed required training to administer or prescribe buprenorphine
9 to individuals in their care with a substance use disorder where such
10 drug is determined appropriate for their treatment.
11 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
12 it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amend-
13 ment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implemen-
14 tation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and
15 completed on or before such effective date.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD00547-06-2