What's happening
This bill imposes a tax on prescription opioids in New York to fund an opiate addiction trust for prevention and treatment programs.
Why it matters
Targets Opioid Manufacturers and Importers. The tax is imposed specifically on manufacturers, producers, and importers (“covered entities”) of prescription opioids, not on patients or pharmacists. This could encourage changes in industry behavior and potentially drive pharmaceutical companies to reconsider marketing and distribution practices for addictive opioids.
Exemptions for Addiction Treatment, Cancer, and Hospice. Opioids used exclusively for addiction treatment (such as methadone or buprenorphine), cancer pain, or hospice care are exempt. This aims to avoid penalizing patients with legitimate, critical needs while still addressing broader over-prescription and misuse.
Revenue Dedicated to Addiction Response. All tax revenues are strictly separated in a dedicated “Opiate Addiction Trust Fund,” ensuring that funds cannot be diverted to unrelated state expenses. This fund is earmarked for building and expanding addiction treatment facilities, sober living homes, mental health provider recruitment, long-term treatment programs, support services for recovery, and care for affected families and infants.
Focus on Underserved and High-Need Communities. The bill prioritizes using funds in medically underserved areas and communities with high prescription drug abuse rates, aiming to address disparities in access to addiction treatment and support, and to target the epicenters of the opioid crisis in New York.
Albany, before your first meeting.
Every bill that moved yesterday, summarized in a sentence and ranked by impact. The Albany Scorecard follows on Sundays.
Free. Unsubscribe in one click. Want alerts on specific bills? Create an account.
Who cares
Headline styles
Tax Opioids, Fund 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
1107
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY
January 14, 2019
Introduced by M. of A. L. 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.
LBD04690-02-9
A. 1107 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-j of the state finance law.
§ 3. The state finance law is amended by adding a new section 89-j to read as follows:
§ 89-j. 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.