What's happening
This bill imposes a tax on prescription opioids and creates a trust fund to support opioid addiction prevention and treatment programs.
Why it matters
Targets opioid manufacturers and importers. by imposing a tax specifically on the companies that produce or bring prescription opioids into New York, not on pharmacists or individual patients, potentially shifting some financial responsibility for the opioid crisis to the pharmaceutical industry.
Excludes key medical uses. by exempting prescription opioids used exclusively for opioid addiction treatment, cancer pain, and hospice care, aiming to avoid penalizing medically necessary uses and reducing the risk of unintended harm to vulnerable patients.
Creates a dedicated funding stream. all tax revenue is deposited in a special trust fund, legally separated from other state funds, ensuring the money is reserved for opioid addiction prevention, treatment, and related support services rather than being absorbed into the general budget.
Specifies broad and targeted uses for the fund. , including expanding treatment facilities, increasing provider reimbursement in underserved areas, supporting sober living and recovery services, aiding children and infants affected by addiction, and allowing flexibility for future needs as determined by health officials—indicating both immediate and long-term investment in combating opioid addiction.
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Who cares
Opioid manufacturers, producers and importers
They would pay a one-cent-per-milligram excise tax on taxable prescription opioids and could not add it as a separate charge on retail customer bills.
Addiction treatment providers and certified mental health providers
Tax proceeds would fund treatment facilities, sober living facilities and expanded residential treatment access, along with recruitment and higher reimbursement for certified providers in specified communities.
- Likely support
Families affected by opioid addiction
The trust fund would support housing for children whose parents are in substance abuse treatment and facilities caring for babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome.
State fiscal and health officials
The tax commissioner would administer the tax, the comptroller and tax commissioner would jointly hold the trust fund, and budget and health officials would have roles in allocating or determining eligible uses of its money.
Headline styles
Tax Opioids, Fund Addiction Treatment
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
No co-sponsors yet.
History
- Referred to ways and means
- Referred to ways and means
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
7764
2017-2018 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
May 15, 2017
Introduced by M. of A. ROSENTHAL -- read once and referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
AN ACT to amend the tax law, in relation to establishing an excise tax on certain prescription opioids; and to amend the state finance law, in relation to establishing an opiate addiction trust fund for the purpose of funding opiate addiction prevention and treatment programs
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "budgeting for opioid addiction treatment in New York act".
§ 2. The tax law is amended by adding a new article 20-C to read as follows:
ARTICLE 20-C
EXCISE TAX ON PRESCRIPTION OPIOIDS Section 495. Definitions.
496. Administration of prescription opioid tax.
§ 495. Definitions. For the purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
1. "Taxable active opioid" means any opiate having an addiction-forming or addiction-sustaining liability similar to morphine or being capable of conversion into a drug having an addiction-forming or addictionsustaining liability. It does not include a prescription drug that is used exclusively for the treatment of opioid addiction as part of a medically assisted treatment effort. Nor does it include any prescription drug that is used exclusively for certain cancer and hospice patients.
2. "Certain cancer and hospice patients" means a patient for whom any taxable active opioid is prescribed to treat pain relating to cancer or cancer treatment or a patient participating in hospice care.
3. "Covered entity" means any manufacturer, producer, or importer of a substance described in subdivision one of this section.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD10886-01-7
A. 7764 2
§ 496. Administration of prescription opioid tax. 1. There is hereby imposed an excise tax on the gross receipts from the sale of taxable active opioids, to be paid by the covered entity, at the rate of one cent per milligram. The tax imposed by this article shall be charged against and be paid by the covered entity and shall not be added as a separate charge or line item on any sales slip, invoice, receipt or other statement or memorandum of the price given to the retail customer.
2. The commissioner may make, adopt and amend rules, regulations, procedures and forms necessary for the proper administration of this article.
3. All taxes, interest and penalties collected or received by the commissioner under this article shall be deposited and disposed of pursuant to the provisions of the opiate addiction trust fund established by section eighty-nine-i of the state finance law.
§ 3. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 89-i to read as follows:
§ 89-i. Opiate addiction trust fund. 1. There is hereby established in the joint custody of the state comptroller and the commissioner of taxation and finance a special fund to be known as the "opiate addiction trust fund".
2. The opiate addiction trust fund shall consist of all moneys required to be deposited in the opiate addiction trust fund pursuant to the provisions of section four hundred ninety-six of the tax law.
3. The moneys in the opiate addiction trust fund shall be kept separate and shall not be commingled with any other moneys in the custody of the commissioner of taxation and finance and the state comptroller.
4. The moneys of the opiate addiction trust fund shall be allocated upon a certificate of approval of availability by the director of the budget as follows: (a) establishing new addiction treatment facilities, residential and outpatient, including covering capital costs; (b) establishing sober living facilities; (c) recruiting and increasing reimbursement for certified mental health providers providing substance abuse treatment in medically underserved communities or communities with high rates of prescription drug abuse; (d) expanding access to longterm, residential treatment programs for opioid addicts, including thirty-day, sixty-day, and ninety-day programs; (e) establishing or operating support programs that offer employer services, housing, and other support services to help recovering addicts transition back into society; (f) establishing or operating housing for children whose parents are participating in substance abuse treatment programs, including capital costs; (g) establishing or operating facilities to provide care for babies born with neonatal abstinence syndrome, including capital costs; and (h) other treatment programs, as the commissioner of health determines appropriate.
§ 4. This act shall take effect immediately.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.