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<bill bill-stage="Introduced-in-House" dms-id="H0A824EFD628B48A0858AA8CF0CF15158" public-private="public" key="H" bill-type="olc"><metadata xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/">
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<dc:title>119 HR 5844 IH: Harm Reduction Through Community Engagement Act of 2025</dc:title>
<dc:publisher>U.S. House of Representatives</dc:publisher>
<dc:date>2025-10-28</dc:date>
<dc:format>text/xml</dc:format>
<dc:language>EN</dc:language>
<dc:rights>Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.</dc:rights>
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<distribution-code display="yes">I</distribution-code><congress display="yes">119th CONGRESS</congress><session display="yes">1st Session</session><legis-num display="yes">H. R. 5844</legis-num><current-chamber>IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES</current-chamber><action display="yes"><action-date date="20251028">October 28, 2025</action-date><action-desc><sponsor name-id="E000297">Mr. Espaillat</sponsor> introduced the following bill; which was referred to the <committee-name committee-id="HIF00">Committee on Energy and Commerce</committee-name>, and in addition to the Committee on <committee-name committee-id="HJU00">the Judiciary</committee-name>, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned</action-desc></action><legis-type>A BILL</legis-type><official-title display="yes">To amend the Controlled Substances Act with respect to the registration of opioid treatment programs to increase stakeholder input from relevant communities and to ensure such programs are treating patients in need, and for other purposes.</official-title></form><legis-body id="H982BF3261AC84243AFC215A87A8F2F07" style="OLC"> 
<section id="H5A56FDE8B49347CA9369584249F2BC31" section-type="section-one"><enum>1.</enum><header>Short title</header><text display-inline="no-display-inline">This Act may be cited as the <quote><short-title>Harm Reduction Through Community Engagement Act of 2025</short-title></quote>.</text></section> <section id="HE523EC12468A44419BD47067C938C173"><enum>2.</enum><header>Opioid treatment program registration requirements</header> <subsection id="H46FBF525C48D4659AE1AC716752F73A0"><enum>(a)</enum><header>In general</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">Section 303(h) of the Controlled Substances Act (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/21/823">21 U.S.C. 823(h)</external-xref>) is amended—</text> 
<paragraph id="H45942191099D4E88925991FE10064A43"><enum>(1)</enum><text>by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) as subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), respectively, and moving the margins of such subparagraphs (as so redesignated) two ems to the right;</text></paragraph> <paragraph id="HD6613E426DD54EE09A40B20DAC1019DF"><enum>(2)</enum><text>by striking <quote><header-in-text level="subsection" style="OLC"><enum-in-header>(h) </enum-in-header></header-in-text>Practitioners who</quote> and inserting the following:</text> 
<quoted-block style="OLC" id="H0A4B0BE6B27049608BAE95D7C5589ABD" display-inline="no-display-inline"> 
<subsection id="H9C5A75E1A8894CACB94C42988C2B8CEF"><enum>(h)</enum><header>Maintenance treatment or detoxification treatment registration requirements</header> 
<paragraph id="HF2E0A93391314C7F80DC24FFD5B33004"><enum>(1)</enum><header>In general</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">Practitioners who</text></paragraph></subsection><after-quoted-block>;</after-quoted-block></quoted-block></paragraph> <paragraph id="H1D01A9A240064B09A127BBDD849FCEF8"><enum>(3)</enum><text>in paragraph (1) (as so designated)—</text> 
<subparagraph id="HD5101820CA104CD7A6087640F577F938"><enum>(A)</enum><text>in subparagraph (B) (as so redesignated), by striking <quote>and</quote> at the end;</text></subparagraph> <subparagraph id="H05B6BD2F81614F28891BA9A0C72E21E6"><enum>(B)</enum><text>in subparagraph (C) (as so redesignated), by striking the period at the end and inserting <quote>; and</quote>; and</text></subparagraph> 
<subparagraph id="HC23AC4A1FDB842A39F83188E4B2E5CFA"><enum>(C)</enum><text>by adding at the end the following:</text> <quoted-block style="OLC" id="HD46B69C5AB81407C8CCC7D3ADF88403D" display-inline="no-display-inline"> <subparagraph id="H3CE3FA8B0A344F5388972CD70E94BAB0" indent="up1"><enum>(D)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">if the Secretary determines that—</text> 
<clause id="H1F75C9DE64FC43309D71BE56DD74C0CC"><enum>(i)</enum><text>the applicant will address community impacts in accordance with paragraph (2);</text></clause> <clause id="H73D8A65133974EC0A5D3316D694C7BD3"><enum>(ii)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">the treatment will not be provided within one-half mile of a public or private licensed day care center, a public or private elementary or secondary school, a learning center, a playground, or another drug treatment facility or program, including a supervised injection facility;</text></clause> 
<clause id="H9CDD4417A4A64A8AB614DC085485513A"><enum>(iii)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">the applicant justifies patient need for the treatment in the community involved;</text></clause> <clause id="HB1C89D1223624B8797D39D490F4ADDCC"><enum>(iv)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">the applicant will actively promote the use of telehealth so as to minimize the need for patients to physically appear for treatment;</text></clause> 
<clause id="H583F181D0AD640D88762ED8419A3627E"><enum>(v)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">the applicant will designate a community liaison responsible for developing and maintaining cooperative relationships with local elected officials, local law enforcement, and local community-based organizations including nonprofit organizations that provide social services;</text></clause> <clause id="H3B262B622EE44ED4961EA0DAC6003447"><enum>(vi)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">the applicant will work with a customer relationship management system of the local government (or establish and operate a customer relationship management system if none exists) to track and report data on the number of service requests received by such system pertaining to drug abuse and treatment in the community involved; and</text></clause> 
<clause id="HA365F5A3659743FAB5A93FC15DAC3BC4"><enum>(vii)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">the applicant will report to the Secretary treatment performance measurement data, including data concerning—</text> <subclause id="H167191C860E24BC7AD4926911A64A921"><enum>(I)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">how many patients seek effective long-term addiction treatment; and</text></subclause> 
<subclause id="HA87EFA88D6E84CED91A92052BFC453A5"><enum>(II)</enum><text>the effectiveness of the use of telehealth in patient treatment plans, including how many patients are using telehealth and the outcomes or progress of such patients.</text></subclause></clause></subparagraph><after-quoted-block>.</after-quoted-block></quoted-block></subparagraph></paragraph> </subsection> <subsection id="H7082CB7910CF4512AC77DCD28A3B9CA4"><enum>(b)</enum><header>Community impact consideration</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">Section 303(h) of the Controlled Substances Act (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/21/823">21 U.S.C. 823(h)</external-xref>), as amended by subsection (a), is further amended by adding at the end the following:</text> 
<quoted-block style="OLC" id="H35957BB7FCCB443B9E9D30C9B521C6EF" display-inline="no-display-inline"> 
<paragraph id="HA5BE4BF22AED41679618F3C45DC3186F" indent="up1"><enum>(2)</enum><header>Community impact consideration</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">For purposes of being determined to be qualified under paragraph (1)(A), a practitioner seeking to become registered or maintain registration under paragraph (1) to dispense narcotic drugs to individuals for maintenance treatment or detoxification treatment shall comply with each of the following:</text> <subparagraph id="HFA4DAB1B29BF403E84862094318EED34"><enum>(A)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">The practitioner shall—</text> 
<clause id="HD8EBF526A10C4F708EE63C4EBE7546B7"><enum>(i)</enum><text>conduct outreach to the community involved concerning the practitioner’s treatment program; and</text></clause> <clause id="HF9BE51E6590D4342A5B1D612726F1030"><enum>(ii)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">in conducting such outreach, give notice to community stakeholders including community boards, tenant associations, outpatient treatment centers, health care providers, community-based nonprofit organizations that provide opioid use and overdose prevention and treatment services, and such other community stakeholders as may be determined by the Secretary.</text></clause></subparagraph> 
<subparagraph id="H7245B5DDE7764D0BA92914759825FDBC"><enum>(B)</enum><text>The practitioner—</text> <clause id="HF11D745EE92640BF91B5D85870BF4B6B"><enum>(i)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">shall develop and implement a neighborhood engagement plan that outlines the practitioner’s engagement with stakeholders referred to in subparagraph (A)(ii) in the geographic location in which the opioid treatment program is located; and</text></clause> 
<clause id="HE2F1BE4CF0334866BEB6449D782C50B0"><enum>(ii)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">may include in such plan a description of the practitioner’s engagement with stakeholders, including homeowners associations, school administrators, neighboring businesses, community organizations, local councils, local emergency medical agencies, and law enforcement agencies.</text></clause></subparagraph> <subparagraph id="HFF3760C385164CFB966676B89CE34A4A"><enum>(C)</enum><text>The practitioner shall—</text> 
<clause id="HCF014CE6CFC64C0AACC153C9100BADBF"><enum>(i)</enum><text>establish and maintain a community advisory board; and</text></clause> <clause id="H3A17F23133784FB493D5F89479B536D1"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>include in the membership of such board volunteers from various stakeholder groups who represent the positions of the surrounding community.</text></clause></subparagraph> 
<subparagraph id="HF1FEFECEF61646CAA78C8788177D2F76"><enum>(D)</enum><text>The practitioner—</text> <clause id="H58169937809F4068812375BE115E9269"><enum>(i)</enum><text>shall develop and implement a community relations plan to measure and minimize the negative impacts of the treatment program on the community; and</text></clause> 
<clause id="H01FB73C3DDAC48B78705215117850253"><enum>(ii)</enum><text>may include in such plan—</text> <subclause id="H2F4C12F03D98491D9B2F8C2DBF83BB69"><enum>(I)</enum><text>policies and procedures to resolve community problems, including loitering and the blocking of pedestrian pathways;</text></subclause> 
<subclause id="H15DBA67F94DE4136A4CD6895BF987F85"><enum>(II)</enum><text>procedures to consider community input and impact; and</text></subclause> <subclause id="H92B13B5908A945B19D793F915CAAD5F2"><enum>(III)</enum><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">a procedure to escalate and solve the quality-of-life issues in the surrounding blocks such as open air drug trading, uncapped needles disposed in public walkways, and open drug use.</text></subclause></clause></subparagraph></paragraph><after-quoted-block>.</after-quoted-block></quoted-block></subsection> 
<subsection id="H8693872FDD534F04A23188C503E49A33"><enum>(c)</enum><header>Reporting to Congress</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">Section 303(h) of the Controlled Substances Act (<external-xref legal-doc="usc" parsable-cite="usc/21/823">21 U.S.C. 823(h)</external-xref>), as amended by subsections (a) and (b), is further amended by adding at the end the following:</text> <quoted-block style="OLC" id="H101528801FDD46608467BC0832FE98FE" display-inline="no-display-inline"> <paragraph id="H571F0AE3C1464A28873B06A891200CAD" indent="up1"><enum>(3)</enum><header>Reporting to Congress</header><text display-inline="yes-display-inline">Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of the <short-title>Harm Reduction Through Community Engagement Act of 2025</short-title>, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Congress a comprehensive report on community engagement and the maintenance of clinics in connection with maintenance treatment or detoxification treatment provided pursuant to this subsection, including—</text> 
<subparagraph id="H4E94A86D987D4E31A73E186304F5CCF6"><enum>(A)</enum><text>treatment performance measurement data;</text></subparagraph> <subparagraph id="H4BCEC1B510B84771A6BC0F952A63C4AF"><enum>(B)</enum><text>guidance on best practices for sustaining community engagement; and</text></subparagraph> 
<subparagraph id="HE5A81A93DD38408D80B6296AF7E8280E"><enum>(C)</enum><text>policy recommendations for sustaining community engagement.</text></subparagraph></paragraph><after-quoted-block>.</after-quoted-block></quoted-block></subsection></section> </legis-body></bill>

