2018 Maryland Code
State Government
Title 2 - General Assembly
Subtitle 10A - Miscellaneous Statutory Committees
§ 2-10A-02. Joint Committee on Behavioral Health and Opioid Use Disorders
(a) Committee established. -- There is a Joint Committee on Behavioral Health and Opioid Use Disorders.
(b) Membership. --
(1) The Committee consists of 10 members.
(2) Of the 10 members:
(i) 5 shall be members of the Senate, appointed by the President of the Senate; and
(ii) 5 shall be members of the House of Delegates, appointed by the Speaker of the House.
(c) Serve at pleasure of presiding officer. -- The members of the Committee serve at the pleasure of the presiding officer who appointed them.
(d) Cochairs. -- The President and the Speaker jointly shall appoint a Senator and a Delegate to serve as cochairs.
(e) Oversight duties. -- The Committee shall have oversight over:
(1) the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program;
(2) State and local programs to treat and reduce behavioral health disorders; and
(3) State and local programs to treat and reduce opioid use disorders.
(f) Purposes. -- The purposes of the Committee are to:
(1) review the final report of the Governor's Heroin and Opioid Emergency Task Force;
(2) review and monitor the activities of the Governor's Inter-Agency Heroin and Opioid Coordinating Council;
(3) monitor the effectiveness of programs, policies, and practices, including:
(i) the State's behavioral health system;
(ii) the State Overdose Prevention Plan;
(iii) local overdose prevention plans;
(iv) strategic planning practices to reduce prescription drug abuse in the State;
(v) efforts to enhance overdose response statutory laws, regulations, and training;
(vi) local overdose fatality review teams; and
(vii) efforts to expand use of the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program by the Maryland Department of Health as a public health tool for monitoring and responding to prescribing patterns across the State;
(4) review the extent to which health insurance carriers in the State are complying with federal and State mental health and addiction parity laws; and
(5) identify areas of concern and, as appropriate, recommend corrective measures to the Governor and the General Assembly.