04/29/2024 01:30 PM House FINANCE

HOUSE BILL NO. 202                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
     "An    Act   relating    to   the    availability   and                                                                    
     administration of opioid overdose drugs in public                                                                          
     schools."                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
4:52:30 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Foster  asked  the  sponsor  to  provide  a  quick                                                                    
summary of the bill.                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Johnson  explained that the bill  would require all                                                                    
school  districts  to make  available  at  least two  opioid                                                                    
overdose drug  kits in each  main school building.  The bill                                                                    
would also ensure  that at least one person  who was trained                                                                    
to administer the  overdose kit would be  present during all                                                                    
hours the main  school building was open.  The Department of                                                                    
Health  (DOH)  would  be required  to  provide  each  school                                                                    
district with the  kit and the commissioner  would provide a                                                                    
short  video  to  each school  district  explaining  how  to                                                                    
administer the kit.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
4:54:21 PM                                                                                                                    
AT EASE                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
4:54:31 PM                                                                                                                    
RECONVENED                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Foster  noted  that   a  representative  from  the                                                                    
Department of  Education and Early Development  (DEED) would                                                                    
be speaking to the fiscal note.                                                                                                 
4:54:52 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
KELLY MANNING,  DEPUTY DIRECTOR, DIVISION OF  INNOVATION AND                                                                    
EDUCATION  EXCELLENCE,  DEPARTMENT  OF EDUCATION  AND  EARLY                                                                    
DEVELOPMENT, JUNEAU  (via teleconference), stated  that DEED                                                                    
prepared one zero  fiscal impact note with  the control code                                                                    
UUmii. She  explained that  the reason  for the  zero fiscal                                                                    
impact was because the requirements  for the department were                                                                    
already  in  place  and  it  already had  a  course  in  the                                                                    
administration  of  Naloxone,  which  was  the  most  common                                                                    
opioid overdose  reversal drug. The course  was developed in                                                                    
collaboration with  DOH and was available  online. She added                                                                    
that the other requirements would only impact DOH.                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
4:56:23 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
COURTNEY   ENRIGHT,  LEGISLATIVE   LIAISON,  DEPARTMENT   OF                                                                    
HEALTH, reviewed  the fiscal  note by  DOH with  the control                                                                    
code  OdJTe. She  explained  that  the department  projected                                                                    
that there  would be a  cost of  about $67,800 in  the first                                                                    
year  of the  bill's  implementation to  fund the  necessary                                                                    
startup costs and $42,000 every following third year.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Hannan  emphasized  that she  supported  the                                                                    
bill and  thought it was  important to move it  forward. She                                                                    
thought  it  appeared that  DOH  would  provide supplies  to                                                                    
schools beginning in  FY 25 and it was  not anticipated that                                                                    
the department  would need to  provide supplies  again until                                                                    
the kits expired three years later.  She asked if DOH was in                                                                    
a position  to restock  the supplies if  a school  used both                                                                    
doses of Naloxone.                                                                                                              
                                                                                                                                
Ms. Enright responded that the  department believed it would                                                                    
be able  to restock when  necessary. She explained  that DOH                                                                    
contemplated whether to include  the restocking costs in the                                                                    
fiscal  note,  but there  were  not  enough data  points  to                                                                    
provide an accurate projection.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Hannan commented  that she  anticipated that                                                                    
the  program  would succeed.  She  did  not think  that  the                                                                    
legislature should  waiver from  ensuring that doses  of the                                                                    
reversal  drugs were  broadly available.  The  only way  the                                                                    
bill would  succeed was if  it was broadly  implemented. She                                                                    
thought that following  initial implementation and training,                                                                    
there would  be an  increase in  the use  of Naloxone  and a                                                                    
decrease in overdose deaths in  the state. She stressed that                                                                    
the cost of the reversal drug would result in saving lives.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Foster appreciated the  bill and relayed there were                                                                    
some  villages  in  the  state   that  might  have  Naloxone                                                                    
available in  health clinics, but  other villages  might not                                                                    
have it  available. The  bill might be  the only  source for                                                                    
the lifesaving aid in an entire village.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
4:59:21 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Representative Galvin indicated that  she was concerned that                                                                    
there would  only be  two doses  per school.  She understood                                                                    
that  when  a  drug  infiltrated a  village,  it  became  an                                                                    
epidemic.  She  recalled  that   there  were  four  fentanyl                                                                    
overdoses in  a single  school in  Anchorage. She  asked how                                                                    
the decision was made to provide two doses.                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
Ms.  Enright  replied that  the  bill  specified that  there                                                                    
would be two doses per school.                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Galvin  asked if  there  was  any data  that                                                                    
suggested that it would make  sense to provide more than two                                                                    
doses.                                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Johnson noted  that  although  the bill  indicated                                                                    
that there  would be two  doses in each school,  there would                                                                    
actually  be four  doses. She  stated  that the  information                                                                    
needed to be updated.                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
Representative Galvin  understood that there  would actually                                                                    
be four doses provided to each  school as opposed to the two                                                                    
doses stated in the bill.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Johnson  responded  that  there needed  to  be  an                                                                    
amendment  to increase  the  number to  four,  but that  the                                                                    
fiscal note reflected the cost of providing four doses.                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
Representative Tomaszewski asked about  the fiscal note from                                                                    
DEED,  which  stated  that  all   school  bus  drivers  were                                                                    
required to be  trained to administer Naloxone.  He asked if                                                                    
there would be doses on each bus.                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Johnson replied that the  bill needed to be updated                                                                    
because the  school bus driver requirement  was removed from                                                                    
the  bill in  the House  Education Committee.  She explained                                                                    
that  Naloxone was  not necessarily  effective after  it had                                                                    
been frozen and school buses were often cold.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
SAVAYA  BIEBER, STAFF,  CO-CHAIR  DELENA JOHNSON,  explained                                                                    
that  the fiscal  note reflected  the cost  of two  overdose                                                                    
kits and there  were two doses of Naloxone  in each overdose                                                                    
kit, meaning there were four doses altogether.                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
Representative  Ortiz   asked  if  there  had   been  public                                                                    
testimony on the bill.                                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair Foster responded in the affirmative.                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
5:03:51 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Representative Stapp  MOVED to  REPORT CSHB 202(EDC)  out of                                                                    
committee   with   individual    recommendations   and   the                                                                    
accompanying fiscal notes. There  being NO OBJECTION, it was                                                                    
so ordered.                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
CSHB 202(EDC) was  REPORTED out of committee  with eight "do                                                                    
pass"  recommendations  and  with  two  "no  recommendation"                                                                    
recommendations  and with  one new  fiscal impact  note from                                                                    
the  Department  of  Health  and  one  previously  published                                                                    
fiscal impact note: FN1 (EED).                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                
5:04:33 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
Co-Chair  Foster   explained  that  the  meeting   would  be                                                                    
recessed until 9:00 a.m. on  April 30, 2024. He reviewed the                                                                    
agenda for the morning meeting.