SB19-008 Summary

• Creates a commission task force to study and recommend alternatives to criminal charges for individuals with substance use disorders, best practices for opioid investigations, and automatic record sealing for drug convictions, with a report due by July 1, 2020.

• Allows medication-assisted treatment to be provided to individuals in Department of Corrections custody who were receiving such treatment in local jails, and permits jails to establish MAT policies by January 1, 2020.

• Establishes a simplified process for sealing drug possession conviction records three or more years after final disposition if no new charges or convictions occurred during that period, with a $65 processing fee that may be waived for indigent defendants.

• Creates a Harm Reduction Grant Program with $1.8 million in appropriations to fund nonprofit organizations, public health agencies, and law enforcement to provide services including naloxone training, sterile equipment, treatment access, and overdose prevention for individuals in or at risk of contact with the criminal justice system.

• Appropriates $2.456 million total for fiscal year 2019-20 to the Department of Human Services, Department of Corrections, and Department of Public Safety for community behavioral health, treatment programs, criminal justice diversion, and medical services related to substance use disorders.