Article 18.5. Substance Abuse Prevention, Intervention, and Treatment Response of the Criminal Justice System

§ 18-18.5-101. Legislative declaration

(1) The general assembly finds that:
(a) Each year Colorado spends significant amounts of money related to untreated substance abuse. The magnitude of public funds spent on the direct and indirect consequences of substance use and abuse is staggering, and dozens of Colorado public agencies play a part in controlling substance use or dealing with its consequences.
(b) Deaths in Colorado related to the abuse of prescription opioids, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and fentanyl, nearly doubled from one hundred eighty in 2000 to three hundred forty-three in 2010;
(c) Children whose parents abuse alcohol or drugs are three times more likely to be verbally, physically, or sexually abused and four times more likely than other children to be neglected. Additionally, research indicates that children in families affected by substance use are at an increased risk for substance use and mental health issues in adolescence. The health, safety, and future success of drug-endangered children are pressing issues in Colorado.
(d) Substance use by youth is detrimental to brain maturation, impacting brain structure, functioning, and neurocognition;
(e) Substance use during pregnancy places children at direct risk for complications, including premature delivery, altered neonatal behavior patterns such as abnormal reflexes and extreme irritability, congenital deformities, low birth weight, attention deficit disorder, and prenatal and postnatal neglect, many of which cause lifelong defects; and
(f) Each year Colorado spends significant moneys related to untreated substance abuse.
(2) The general assembly further finds that substance abuse, including that related to illicit drugs, prescription drugs, underage marijuana use, and methamphetamine labs and abuse, harms citizens of Colorado. Responses to substance abuse should be supported in the criminal justice system, the public health system, mental health services, social services, child welfare and youth services, community task forces, and with treatment for parents who abuse drugs and prevention and treatment for children affected by substance abuse and nonfederally regulated pharmaceutical drug production and distribution, and other systems affected by substance abuse.
(3) The general assembly, therefore, determines and declares that it is necessary to change the state methamphetamine task force into a substance abuse trend and response task force to:
(a) Examine drug trends and the most effective models and practices for:
(I) The prevention of and intervention into substance abuse;
(II) The prevention of unintended harmful exposures due to nonfederal-drug-administration-regulated pharmaceutical drug production and distribution;
(III) The prevention of potential negative public health impacts due to improper dispensing, management, and disposal of drugs; and
(IV) The treatment of children and adults affected by substance use disorders;
(b) Formulate a response to current and emerging substance use disorder problems from the criminal justice, prevention, and treatment sectors, including the use of drop-off treatment services, mobile and walk-in crisis centers, and withdrawal management programs, rather than continued criminal justice involvement for offenders of low-level drug offenses; and
(c) Make recommendations to the general assembly for the development of statewide strategies and legislative proposals related to these issues. The recommendations made to the general assembly shall be made in coordination with the task force and the department of human services, the agency responsible for the administration of behavioral health programs and services.

§ 18-18.5-102. Definitions

As used in this article, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1) “Task force” means the state substance abuse trend and response task force established pursuant to section 18-18.5-103.

§ 18-18.5-103. State substance abuse trend and response task force - creation - membership - duties - report

(1) There is hereby created the state substance abuse trend and response task force.
(2) The task force shall consist of the following members:
(a)
(I) The attorney general or his or her designee, who shall serve as the chair;
(II) An expert in the field of substance abuse prevention, who shall be appointed by the president of the senate and serve as a vice-chair;
(III) An expert in the field of substance abuse treatment, who shall be appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives and serve as a vice-chair;
(IV) A representative of the criminal justice system, who shall be appointed by the governor and serve as a vice-chair;
(V) The president of the senate or his or her designee;
(VI) The minority leader of the senate or his or her designee;
(VII) The speaker of the house of representatives or his or her designee;
(VIII) The minority leader of the house of representatives or his or her designee;
(a.5) The terms of the members appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives and the president of the senate and who are serving on March 22, 2007, shall be extended to and expire on or shall terminate on the convening date of the first regular session of the sixty-seventh general assembly. As soon as practicable after such convening date, the speaker and the president shall each appoint or reappoint one member in the same manner as provided in subparagraphs (II) and (III) of paragraph (a) of this subsection (2). Thereafter, the terms of members appointed or reappointed by the speaker and the president shall expire on the convening date of the first regular session of each general assembly, and all subsequent appointments and reappointments by the speaker and the president shall be made as soon as practicable after such convening date. The person making the original appointment or reappointment shall fill any vacancy by appointment for the remainder of an unexpired term. Members appointed or reappointed by the speaker and the president shall serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority and shall continue in office until the member’s successor is appointed.
(b) Twenty-two members appointed by the task force chair and vice-chairs as follows:
(I) A representative of a local child and family service provider;
(II) A representative of a major health facility that focuses on the treatment of children;
(III) A representative of a human services agency with experience in child welfare issues;
(IV) A representative of the criminal defense bar;
(V) A representative of a behavioral health treatment provider that is an expert in substance abuse treatment procedures;
(VI) A representative of the department of education, who is familiar with the department’s drug prevention initiatives;
(VII) A representative of the Colorado district attorneys council;
(VIII) A representative of a Colorado sheriffs’ organization;
(IX) A representative of a Colorado police chiefs’ organization;
(X) A county commissioner from a rural county;
(XI) A representative of an organization that provides information, advocacy, and support services to municipalities located in rural counties;
(XII) A licensed pharmacist;
(XIII) A representative of the department of public safety;
(XIV) A representative of the office of the child’s representative;
(XV) A representative of the division of adult parole of the department of corrections;
(XVI) A representative of the Colorado drug investigators association;
(XVII) A youth representative;
(XVIII) A representative of a substance abuse recovery organization;
(XIX) An expert in environmental protection;
(XX) A representative of a community prevention coalition;
(XXI) A representative of the Colorado department of public health and environment;
(XXII) A representative of the office of behavioral health in the Colorado department of human services.
(c) Two members appointed by the chief justice of the Colorado supreme court who represent the judicial department, one of whom is a district court judge experienced in handling cases involving substance abuse and one of whom represents the division of probation within the judicial department;
(d) A member appointed by the governor who represents the governor’s policy staff.
(3) A vacancy occurring in a position shall be filled as soon as possible by the appropriate appointing authority designated in subsection (2) of this section.
(4) The task force, in collaboration with state agencies charged with prevention, intervention, or treatment of substance abuse, shall:
(a) Assist local communities in implementing the most effective models and practices for substance abuse prevention, intervention, and treatment and in developing the responses by the criminal justice system;
(b) Review model programs that have shown the best results in Colorado and across the United States and provide information on the programs to local communities and local drug task forces;
(c) Assist and augment local drug task forces without supplanting them;
(d) Investigate collaborative models on protecting children and other victims of substance abuse and nonfederal- drug-administration-regulated pharmaceutical drug production and distribution;
(e) Measure and evaluate the progress of the state and local jurisdictions in preventing substance abuse and nonfederal-drug-administration-regulated pharmaceutical drug production and distribution and in prosecuting persons engaging in these acts;
(f) Evaluate and promote approaches to increase public awareness of current and emerging substance abuse problems and strategies for addressing those problems;
(g) Assist local communities with implementation of the most effective practices to respond to current and emerging substance abuse problems and nonfederal-drug- administration-regulated pharmaceutical drug production and distribution;
(h) Consider any other issues concerning substance abuse problems and nonfederal-drug-administration- regulated pharmaceutical drug production and distribution that arise during the course of the task force study;
(i) Develop a definition of a “drug-endangered child” to be used in the context of the definition of “child abuse or neglect” as set forth in section 19-1-103 (1), C.R.S., and include the definition in its January 1, 2014, report to the judiciary committees of the senate and the house of representatives, or any successor committees.
(5) All state and local agencies shall cooperate with the task force and provide such data and other information as the task force may require in carrying out its duties under this section. Any state or local agency or organization that is represented on the task force may provide staff assistance to the task force, subject to the discretion of the chair. Any staff assistance provided to the task force pursuant to this subsection (5) shall be without compensation.
(6) In addition, the task force shall:
(a) Meet at least four times each year or more often as directed by the chair of the task force;
(b) Communicate with and obtain input from groups throughout the state affected by the issues identified in subsection (4) of this section;
(c) Create subcommittees as needed to carry out the duties of the task force. The subcommittees may consist, in part, of persons who are not members of the task force. Such persons may vote on issues before the subcommittee but shall not be entitled to a vote at meetings of the task force.
(c.5) Convene stakeholders for the purpose of:
(I) Reviewing progress on bills introduced by the opioid and other substance use disorders study committee created in section 10-22.3-101 and enacted by the general assembly; and
(II) Generating policy recommendations related to opioid and other substance use disorders, including prevention, harm reduction, treatment, criminal justice, and recovery;
(d) Notwithstanding section 24-1-136 (11)(a)(I), submit a written report to the judiciary committees, or any successor committees, of the senate and the house of representatives of the general assembly by January 1, 2014, and by each January 1 thereafter, at a minimum specifying the following:
(I) Issues to be studied in upcoming task force meetings and a prioritization of those issues;
(II) Findings and recommendations regarding issues of prior consideration by the task force;
(III) Legislative proposals of the task force that identify the policy issues involved, the agencies responsible for the implementation of the changes, and the funding sources required for such implementation.
(7)
(a) Except as otherwise provided in section 2-2-326, C.R.S., members of the task force shall serve without compensation.
(b) (Deleted by amendment, L. 2014.)

§ 18-18.5-104. Task force funding

(1) The division of criminal justice in the department of public safety, on behalf of the task force, is authorized to receive and expend contributions, grants, services, and in-kind donations from any public or private entity for any direct or indirect costs associated with the duties and functions of the task force set forth in this article.
(2) The task force shall, no later than August 1, 2006, identify all funding sources described in subsection (1) of this section that the task force intends to utilize for its operation through August 1, 2008.
(3) Subject to available moneys, the task force may approve grants to recipients. In selecting grant recipients, the task force, to the extent possible, shall ensure that grants are awarded to law enforcement agencies or other applicants in a variety of geographic areas of the state.

§ 18-18.5-105. Cash fund - created

(1)
(a) All private and public funds received by the task force or the division of criminal justice in the department of public safety, on behalf of the task force, through grants, contributions, and donations pursuant to this article 18.5 shall be transmitted to the state treasurer, who shall credit the same to the substance abuse prevention, intervention, and treatment cash fund, which fund is hereby created and referred to in this section as the “fund”. The money in the fund shall be subject to annual appropriation by the general assembly for the direct and indirect costs associated with the implementation of this article 18.5. All money in the fund not expended for the purpose of this article 18.5 may be invested by the state treasurer as provided by law. All interest and income derived from the investment and deposit of money in the fund shall be credited to the fund. Any unexpended and unencumbered money remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall remain in the fund and shall not be credited or transferred to the general fund or another fund. All unexpended and unencumbered money remaining in the fund as of September 1, 2028, shall be transferred to the general fund.
(b) It is the intent of the general assembly that the task force and the division of criminal justice of the department of public safety, on behalf of the task force, shall not be required to solicit gifts, grants, or donations from any source and that the task force shall operate in accordance with the provisions of this article, independently of the balance in the fund.
(2) Compensation as provided in section 18-18.5-103 (7)(b) for legislative members of the task force shall be approved by the chair of the legislative council and paid by vouchers and warrants drawn as provided by law from moneys appropriated for such purpose and allocated to the legislative council from the fund.

§ 18-18.5-106. Repeal of article

This article 18.5 is repealed, effective September 1, 2028.