2023 End of Year Summary
Updated Sept. 4, 2022
Signed and Chaptered in 2022
AB 666 (Quirk-Silva) – Substance use disorder workforce development — This bill, the Combating the Overdose and Addiction Epidemic by Building the Substance Use Disorder Workforce (CODE W) Act, requires the department, on or before July 1, 2023, to issue a statewide substance use disorder (SUD) workforce needs assessment report that evaluates the current state of the SUD workforce, determines barriers to entry into the SUD workforce, and assesses the state’s systems for regulating and supporting the SUD workforce.
AB 1598 (Fentanyl test strip exemption from paraphernalia prohibitions) — This bill makes testing equipment (including fentanyl test strips) for fentanyl, ketamine, gamma hydroxybutyric acid or any analog of fentanyl legal.
AB 2473 (Nazarian) – Substance use disorders: counselors (min. requirements) — This bill requires the CA Department of Health Care Services to specify requirements, including core competencies, for registered and certified substance use counselors, as specified. The bill would require core competency requirements for registered and certified substance use counselors to include, at a minimum, specified elements, including understanding the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and clinical documentation. The bill would prohibit hour requirements for registered counselors from being lower than the hour requirements for certified peer support specialists. The bill would prohibit the department from implementing several of these provisions before July 1, 2025. The bill would exempt counselors in good standing from several requirements, as specified, if certain criteria are met. The California Consortium of Addiction Programs and Professions (CCAPP) in an oppose position states that as currently written the bill will dramatically impact a workforce that already faces critical shortages.
SB 349 (Umberg, Davies, Kahlra) – California Ethical Treatment for Persons with Substance Use Disorder Act (See Governor’s Office April 13, 2022 Press Release) — This bill creates the California Ethical Treatment for Persons with Substance Use Disorder Act to provide protection for substance use disorder treatment clients and their families.
AB 666 (Quirk-Silva) – Substance use disorder workforce development — This bill, the Combating the Overdose and Addiction Epidemic by Building the Substance Use Disorder Workforce (CODE W) Act, would require the department, on or before July 1, 2023, to issue a statewide substance use disorder (SUD) workforce needs assessment report that evaluates the current state of the SUD workforce, determines barriers to entry into the SUD workforce, and assesses the state’s systems for regulating and supporting the SUD workforce. Signed by Governor March 9, 2022.
AB 2365 (Patterson, Lackey, Seyarto, Wilk) - Fentanyl program grants — This bill would require the California Health and Human Services Agency to establish a grant program to reduce fentanyl overdoses and use throughout the state by giving out 6 one-time grants to increase local efforts in education, testing, recovery, and support services. The bill would require the participating entities to provide the agency with specified information on the results of the program and would require the agency to report those results to the Legislature and Governor’s office on or before January 1, 2026.
AB 2581 (Salas) - mental health and substance use disorders: provider credentials — For managed healthcare (HMO) contracts with providers issued, amended, or renewed on and after January 1, 2023, this bill would require a health care service plan that provides coverage for mental health and substance use disorders and credentials health care providers of those services for the health care service plan’s networks, to assess and verify the qualifications of a health care provider within 60 days after receiving a completed provider credentialing application.
SB 1165 (Substance abuse and mental health services: advertisement and marketing) — This bill prohibits operators of licensed alcohol and drug treatment facilities or programs from making or providing false or misleading statements or information about medical treatments or services offered in their marketing, advertising material, media, or social media presence or on internet websites.
AJR 17 (Waldron): Assembly Joint Resolution on Military behavioral health care — Assembly Joint Resolution to urge the the President of the United States, the United States Congress, and the United States Department of Veterans Affairs to take all measures to ensure that military veterans can access necessary treatment for mental health and substance abuse disorders in a timely manner, ensuring veterans the level of care to which their honorable service to our country entitles them.
Vetoed by Governor
AB 552 (Quirk-Silva) - Integrated School-Based Behavioral Health Partnership Program — This bill would authorize the Integrated School-Based Behavioral Health Partnership Program to provide prevention and early intervention for, and access to, behavioral health services for pupils. See veto message here.
SB 57 (Wiener) - Overdose prevention program (“safe injection site”) pilot programs. This bill would, until January 1, 2028, authorize the City and County of San Francisco, the County of Los Angeles, the City of Los Angeles, and the City of Oakland to approve entities to operate overdose prevention programs for persons that satisfy specified requirements, including, among other things, providing a hygienic space supervised by trained staff where people who use drugs can consume preobtained drugs, providing sterile consumption supplies, providing access or referrals to substance use disorder treatment, and that program staff be authorized and trained to provide emergency administration of an opioid antagonist, as defined by existing law. See veto message here.
SB 999 (Low) - Health coverage: substance use disorders — The bill would require a health care service plan and a disability insurer, and an entity acting on a plan’s or insurer’s behalf, to ensure compliance with specific requirements for utilization review, including that a health care service plan and a disability insurer or an entity acting on the plan’s or insurer’s behalf, maintain telephone access during California business hours for a health care provider to request authorization for mental health and substance use disorder care and conduct peer-to-peer discussions regarding specific issues related to treatment. See veto message here.
Not moving forward this session (2021-2022)
AB 1098 (Daly) - Recovery residences
AB 1343 (Cooper) - Controlled substances: CURES database (exempt MAT from CURES in treatment program context)
AB 1928 (McCarty) – Hope California: Secured Residential Treatment Pilot Program
AB 2150 (Lackey, Cooley) - Cannabis research
AB 2259 (Berman) – Foster youth: Substance used disorders
AB 2733 (Choi) – Parolee substance use disorder treatment
AB 2818 (Waldron) – Substance use disorder treatment workforce expansion
SB 57 (Overdose Prevention Programs) in Assembly Public Safety Committee
From Governor’s veto message: I have long supported the cutting edge of harm reduction strategies. However, I am acutely concerned about the operations of safe injection sites without strong, engaged local leadership and well-documented, vetted, and thoughtful operational and sustainability plans.
SB 519 (Weiner, Kamlager, Newman, Lee, Low, Quirk, Wicks) - Controlled substances: decriminalization of certain hallucinogenic substances
From an Aug. 13, 2022 Sacramento Bee article: Through an opaque amendment process, the Appropriations Committee removed the heart of the proposal, sending what amounts to a legislative middle-finger to veterans and people with debilitating mental health issues and addiction disorders who would’ve benefited. The process was so bizarre that a full day elapsed before Wiener found out what happened, let alone why. It could take additional days before the amendments are made public…There was no organized opposition, bipartisan support, and public polling that showed 58% of California voters supported decriminalizing psychedelics.
SB 568 (Pan) - Deductibles: chronic disease management
SB 1154 (Eggman) – Substance use disorder crisis: database
SB 1282 (Chen, Kiley) – Opioid Master Settlement Agreement
SB 1303 (Jones) – Conservatorships: serious mental illness and substance use disorders: counties