SF 4498

03/09/26  REVISOR  SGS/CG  26-07802        as introduced
  SENATE
  STATE OF MINNESOTA
  NINETY-FOURTH SESSION  S.F. No. 4498
  (SENATE AUTHORS: SEEBERGER)
  DATE       D-PG  OFFICIAL STATUS
  03/17/2026      6745 Introduction and first reading
  Referred to Health and Human Services
1.1A bill for an act
1.2relating to health; modifying strategies in the comprehensive drug overdose and
1.3morbidity program administered by the commissioner of health; amending
1.4Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 144.0528, subdivision 2.
1.5    BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:
1.6Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 144.0528, subdivision 2, is amended to read:
1.7Subd. 2. Establishment. The commissioner of health shall establish a comprehensive
1.8    drug overdose and morbidity program to conduct comprehensive drug overdose and morbidity
1.9    prevention activities, epidemiologic investigations and surveillance, and evaluation to
1.10   monitor, address, and prevent drug overdoses statewide through integrated strategies that
1.11   include the following:
1.12(1) advance access to evidence-based nonnarcotic pain management services;
1.13(2) implement culturally specific interventions and prevention programs with population
1.14   and community groups in greatest need, including those who are pregnant and their infants;
1.15(3) enhance overdose prevention and supportive services for people experiencing
1.16   homelessness. This strategy includes funding for emergency and short-term housing subsidies
1.17   through the homeless overdose prevention hub and expanding support for syringe services
1.18   programs serving people experiencing homelessness statewide;
1.19(4) equip employers to promote health and well-being of employees by addressing
1.20   substance misuse and drug overdose;. Under this strategy, the commissioner of health must:
Section 1.  1
 03/09/26  REVISOR  SGS/CG  26-07802  as introduced
2.1      (i) develop and implement a Recovery Friendly Workplace Initiative, in consultation
2.2  with the commissioner of employment and economic development and the commissioner
2.3  of labor and industry;
2.4      (ii) engage in outreach to the business community to create a public-private partnership;
2.5  and
2.6      (iii) facilitate the adoption by Minnesota employers of recovery friendly workplace
2.7  policies and practices;
2.8      (5) improve outbreak detection and identification of substances involved in overdoses
2.9  through the expansion of the Minnesota Drug Overdose and Substance Use Surveillance
2.10 Activity (MNDOSA);
2.11     (6) implement Tackling Overdose With Networks (TOWN) community prevention
2.12 programs;
2.13     (7) identify, address, and respond to drug overdose and morbidity in those who are
2.14 pregnant or have just given birth through multitiered approaches that may:
2.15     (i) promote medication-assisted treatment options;
2.16     (ii) support programs that provide services in accord with evidence-based care models
2.17 for mental health and substance abuse disorder;
2.18     (iii) collaborate with interdisciplinary and professional organizations that focus on quality
2.19 improvement initiatives related to substance use disorder; and
2.20     (iv) implement substance use disorder-related recommendations from the maternal
2.21 mortality review committee, as appropriate; and
2.22     (8) design a system to assess, address, and prevent the impacts of drug overdose and
2.23 morbidity on those who are pregnant, their infants, and children. Specifically, the
2.24 commissioner of health may:
2.25     (i) inform health care providers and the public of the prevalence, risks, conditions, and
2.26 treatments associated with substance use disorders involving or affecting pregnancies,
2.27 infants, and children; and
2.28     (ii) identify communities, families, infants, and children affected by substance use
2.29 disorder in order to recommend focused interventions, prevention, and services.
 Section 1.  2