Bill Text: IL HB0002 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Engrossed

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Bill Title: Amends the Substance Use Disorder Act. Requires the Department of Human Services to develop a pilot program aimed at saving the lives of people who use substances. Provides that the program shall include the establishment of at least one overdose prevention site. Provides that the pilot overdose prevention sites shall be exempt from the Act's intervention licensure requirements for harm reduction services until the Department has adopted rules for harm reduction services. Provides that overdose prevention sites shall offer people who are most likely to use drugs in public, unobserved, high-risk, and unsanitary locations a safe space to use pre-obtained substances and to connect with community supports or other existing treatment and recovery programs, harm reduction services, and health care. Sets forth principles that pilot overdose prevention sites shall abide by. Contains provisions concerning: staffing requirements at overdose prevention sites; designated locations for overdose prevention sites; program and service requirements for overdose prevention sites; civil immunity for overdose prevention sites and staff; and other matters. In provisions concerning licensure categories and services, creates a new harm reduction services category under the Act.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 18-1)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-10-18 - Added Co-Sponsor Rep. Steven Reick [HB0002 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB0002-Engrossed.html

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AN ACT concerning State government.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Substance Use Disorder Act is amended by
changing Section 15-10 and by adding Section 5-26 as follows:
(20 ILCS 301/5-26 new)
Sec. 5-26. Harm reduction services.
(a) Legislative findings. The General Assembly finds the
following:
(1) Illinois is experiencing a growing overdose
crisis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, over 4,000 Illinoisans died from overdoses
between January 2021 and January 2022, a 12.6% increase
from the previous year. Most of those preventable deaths
involved opioids.
(2) A significant reason for the increase in deaths is
a poisoned drug supply, with illicit fentanyl killing
people using street-bought substances. With the increasing
use of potent fentanyl in the illicit substance supply in
Illinois, more lives will continue to be lost.
(3) Nearly all witnessed opioid overdoses are
reversible with the provision of oxygen, naloxone, and
other emergency care. However, many people use drugs alone

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or use them with people who do not have naloxone and are
not trained in overdose response.
(4) Overdose prevention sites can save lives. Overdose
prevention sites provide individuals with a safe, hygienic
space to consume pre-obtained drugs and access to other
harm reduction, treatment, recovery, and ancillary support
services.
(5) The goals of overdose prevention sites are:
(A) Saving lives by quickly providing emergency
care to persons experiencing an overdose.
(B) Reducing the spread of infectious diseases,
such as AIDS and hepatitis.
(C) Reducing public injection of substances and
discarded syringes in surrounding areas.
(D) Linking those with substance use disorders to
behavioral and physical health supports.
(b) Definitions. As used in this Section:
"Harm reduction" means a philosophical framework and set
of strategies designed to reduce harm and promote dignity and
well-being among persons and communities who engage in
substance use.
"Overdose prevention sites" or "OPS" means hygienic
locations where individuals may safely consume pre-obtained
substances.
(c) Overdose prevention sites; licensure. The Department
shall develop a pilot program aimed at saving the lives of

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people who use substances that shall include the establishment
of at least one overdose prevention site. The pilot overdose
prevention sites shall be exempt from the intervention
licensure requirements under Section 15-10 for harm reduction
services until the Department has adopted rules for harm
reduction services. Overdose prevention sites shall offer
people who are most likely to use drugs in public, unobserved,
high-risk, and unsanitary locations a safe space to use
pre-obtained substances and to connect with community supports
or other existing treatment and recovery programs, harm
reduction services, and health care.
(d) Pilot overdose prevention sites shall abide by the
following principles:
(1) Nothing About Us Without Us: OPS programs and
services shall be formulated with transparency, community
involvement, and direct input by people who use
substances.
(2) Equity: OPS staff and programs shall provide equal
support, services, and resources to all participants and
ensure accessibility to the greatest extent possible.
(3) Harm Reduction: OPS programs and services shall
prioritize individual dignity and autonomy in
decision-making while encouraging people to reduce
high-risk behaviors.
(4) OPS programs and services shall affirm the
humanity and dignity of people who use substances and

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shall be operated in a way that is safe, clean, inclusive,
and welcoming to reduce stigma and build trust.
(5) OPS programs and services shall prioritize
relationship-building and trust among staff and
participants in order to create safe spaces and provide
increased opportunities to connect with additional
services that promote health and well-being.
(e) Staffing.
(1) OPS staff, at a minimum, shall consist of trained
peers with lived experience of substance use or overdose,
along with other necessary professionals such as community
health workers, behavioral health professionals,
physicians, nurses, or medical personnel who have been
trained in overdose responses.
(2) A majority of the OPS staff shall include peers.
(3) Staffing decisions must ensure that participants
utilize the service, feel safe, and are connected to
resources.
(4) The Department may not prohibit persons with
criminal records from frontline, management, or executive
positions within entities that operate an overdose
prevention site.
(f) Location. Pilot overdose prevention sites shall be
established in physical locations with high need determined by
rates of overdoses and substance use; and as a natural
development or extension of existing harm reduction and

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outreach programming. Priority shall be given to communities
that have the highest number of fatal and non-fatal overdoses
as determined by public health data from the Department of
Public Health. Pilot overdose prevention sites shall
specifically target high-risk and socially marginalized drug
users in a municipality with a population greater than
2,000,000, not to exceed 12 months from implementation.
(g) Pilot OPS features. An overdose prevention site shall
at a minimum:
(1) provide a hygienic space where participants may
consume their pre-obtained substances;
(2) administer first aid, if needed, and monitor
participants for potential overdose;
(3) provide sterile injection or other substance use
supplies, collect used hypodermic needles and syringes,
provide secure hypodermic needle and syringe disposal
services;
(4) provide access to naloxone or naloxone nasal
spray;
(5) ensure confidentiality of OPS participants by
using an anonymous unique identifier;
(6) provide education on safe consumption practices,
proper disposal of hypodermic needles and syringes, and
overdose prevention, including written information in, at
a minimum, the 4 most commonly spoken languages in the
State as determined by the Department;

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(7) provide referrals to substance use disorder and
mental health treatment services, medication-assisted
treatment or recovery services, recovery support services,
medical services, job training and placement services, and
other services that address social determinants of health;
(8) provide wound kits;
(9) offer a space on-site for participants to stay
safely sheltered and supervised after consuming
substances; and
(10) provide adequate staffing by health care
professionals or other trained staff.
(h) Other OPS program designs and implementation shall be
informed by the target community.
(i) Each pilot overdose prevention site shall track and
compile information on the success rate of persons who are
referred to and receive additional treatment and recovery
support services after utilizing the services provided at the
overdose prevention site. To obtain such information, each
pilot overdose prevention site must monitor and collect the
following data:
(1) the number of persons who seek and receive
services at the overdose prevention site;
(2) the number of persons identified in paragraph (1)
who are referred to other substance use treatment and
recovery support services offered by another provider; and
(3) the number of persons identified in paragraph (2)

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who receive and complete substance use treatment or a
program of recovery support services offered by another
provider.
Each pilot overdose prevention site shall compile the data
and information required under this subsection and submit an
annual report on its findings to the Department in a form and
manner and on a date prescribed by the Department. All
personally identifiable information shall be excluded from the
reports consistent with State and federal privacy protections.
(j) The Department may approve an entity to operate a
pilot program in one or more jurisdictions upon satisfaction
of the requirements set forth in this Section. The Department
shall establish standards for program approval and training.
(k) Notwithstanding the Illinois Controlled Substances
Act, the Drug Paraphernalia Control Act, or any other
provision of law to the contrary, the following persons shall
not be arrested, charged, or prosecuted for any criminal
offense or be subject to any civil or administrative penalty,
including seizure or forfeiture of assets or real property or
disciplinary action by a professional licensing board, or be
denied any right or privilege, solely for participation or
involvement in a program approved by the Department under this
Act:
(1) any individual who seeks to utilize, utilizes, or
has utilized services provided at an overdose prevention
site established in accordance with this Section;

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(2) a staff member or administrator of an overdose
prevention site, including a healthcare professional,
manager, employee, or volunteer; and
(3) an individual who owns real property at which an
overdose prevention site is located or operates.
(20 ILCS 301/15-10)
Sec. 15-10. Licensure categories and services. No person,
entity, or program may provide the services or conduct the
activities described in this Section without first obtaining a
license therefor from the Department, unless otherwise
exempted under this Act. The Department shall, by rule,
provide requirements for each of the following types of
licenses and categories of service:
(a) Treatment: Categories of service authorized by a
treatment license are Early Intervention, Outpatient,
Intensive Outpatient/Partial Hospitalization, Subacute
Residential/Inpatient, and Withdrawal Management.
Medication assisted treatment that includes methadone used
for an opioid use disorder can be licensed as an adjunct to
any of the treatment levels of care specified in this
Section.
(b) Intervention: Categories of service authorized by
an intervention license are DUI Evaluation, DUI Risk
Education, Designated Program, Harm Reduction Services,
and Recovery Homes for persons in any stage of recovery

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from a substance use disorder.
The Department may, under procedures established by rule
and upon a showing of good cause for such, exempt off-site
services from having to obtain a separate license for services
conducted away from the provider's licensed location.
(Source: P.A. 100-759, eff. 1-1-19.)