This resolution will be voted on when the Allegany County Legislature meets on May 28th in Belmont:
Intro. No. _118-19 RESOLUTION NO. ________________ Page _1__ of_1__ pages
County
Attorney_______
RESOLUTION SETTING DATE OF PUBLIC HEARING ON A LOCAL LAW
DECLARING THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC AND ITS EFFECTS ON ALLEGANY COUNTY A PUBLIC
NUISANCE AND FURTHER ESTABLISHING A COST RECOVERY PROCEDURE FOR THE COUNTY’S
EXPENDITURES INCURRED IN PROVIDING SERVICES RELATED TO THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC
Offered by: Ways & Means Committee
WHEREAS, on this 28th day of
May, 2019, a Local Law (Intro. No. 2-2019, Print No. 1) was introduced in
relation to allowing the County to recover the costs related to healthcare,
family and social services, criminal justice, addiction and rehabilitation, and
other areas that are a result of the opioid epidemic; despite the existence of
the common-law municipal cost recovery rule (a.k.a. free public services
doctrine) and declare the opioid epidemic and its effects on the County a
public nuisance, and
WHEREAS, it will be necessary to set a
date for a public hearing on said proposed Local Law, now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED:
1. That a public hearing shall be held on
June 10, 2019, at 2:00 p.m. in the County Legislative Chambers, Room 221,
County Office Building, Belmont, New York, before the Allegany County Board of
Legislators, in relation to proposed Local Law Intro. No. 2-2019, Print No. 1.
2. That the Clerk of the Board of
Legislators is directed to prepare, with the assistance of the County Attorney,
a notice of said public hearing, to cause the publication of a copy of said
notice in each of the two newspapers which have been officially designated by
this Board to publish "notices," and to affix a copy of said notice
on the County bulletin board in the County Courthouse at Belmont, New York;
both publication and posting to be made at least five days before the public
hearing.
This is the proposed law:
COUNTY
OF ALLEGANY
Intro. No.
2-2019 Print No. 1
A LOCAL LAW DECLARING THE
OPIOID EPIDEMIC AND ITS EFFECTS ON ALLEGANY COUNTY A PUBLIC NUISANCE AND
FURTHER ESTABLISHING A COST RECOVERY PROCEDURE FOR THE COUNTY’S EXPENDITURES
INCURRED IN PROVIDING SERVICES RELATED TO THE OPIOID EPIDEMIC
BE IT ENACTED
by the Board of Legislators of Allegany County, State of New York, as follows:
SECTION 1. Purpose and Intent.
The opioid epidemic is sweeping the
country. Indeed, addiction to and abuse
of opioids is one of the greatest challenges facing Allegany County, New York,
(the “County”). A cause of this
increasing crisis is the overabundance of prescription opioids. Vast amounts of prescription opioids were
sold, distributed, and prescribed in the County over the past several years, a
practice that continues today. The
selling, distributing, and prescribing of large amounts of opioids in our
community has created a public health and safety hazard affecting the residents
of the County. This crisis has
devastated families, wreaked havoc on our economy, and produced a generation of
narcotic dependence. As a result of the
opioid epidemic, costs related to healthcare, family and social services,
criminal justice, addiction and rehabilitation, and many other areas have
significantly increased. Many of these
costs are paid by the County.
The purpose and intent of this
legislation is to allow the County to recover these costs, despite the
existence of the common-law municipal cost recovery rule (a.k.a. free public
services doctrine) and declare the opioid epidemic and its effects on the
County a public nuisance. Specifically,
the County provides services related to the opioid epidemic, which are funded
by tax revenues. This statute clarifies
that reimbursement may be sought for the costs of providing such services,
whenever practicable, from the responsible party. To accomplish this, the County establishes
this cost recovery procedure and declares the opioid epidemic and its effects
on the County a public nuisance.
SECTION
2. Definitions.
“Costs”
means all expenditures related to the opioid epidemic that directly or
indirectly arise from the County’s response to a responsible party’s action or
inaction.
“Responsible
party” means any person or corporation whose negligent, intentional, or
otherwise wrongful conduct causes the incident resulting in the County
incurring costs or who is found liable or made responsible by a court for the
costs incurred by the County in the form of damages, regardless of the cause of
action.
SECTION
3. Governmental Function Cost
Recovery.
The
County may recover the costs of governmental functions related to opioids
marketed, sold, manufactured, dispensed, prescribed, and/or distributed by the
responsible party. If a responsible
party fails to pay the costs demanded, the County may initiate and recover
costs through administrative, civil, and/or criminal action against the
responsible party. In that case, the
County may also recover attorney’s fees, interest, and any other payment or
type of damages the court deems proper.
SECTION
4. Effect of Criminal or Civil
Proceedings on Governmental Function Cost Recovery.
The
initiation of administrative or civil proceedings for governmental function
cost recovery does not bar the criminal prosecution of a responsible party for
any associated violation. Similarly,
criminal prosecution does not bar civil collection of costs for the violation
giving rise to the criminal prosecution.
SECTION
5. Public Nuisance.
The
County hereby finds and declares the following:
1.
That
addiction to and abuse of opioids is one of the greatest challenges facing the
County;
2.
A
cause of this increasing crisis is the overabundance of prescription
opioids. Vast amounts of prescription
opioid pain pills were sold, distributed, and prescribed in the County over the
past several years, which practice continues today;
3.
There
is evidence showing that approximately four in five heroin users began their
addiction by first using and then misusing prescription pain medications
containing opioids;
4.
The
selling, distributing, and prescribing of large amounts of opioid pain pills in
the County has created a public health and safety hazard affecting the
residence of the County, resulting in devastation to County families, a
negative effect on the County economy, wasted public resources, and a
generation of narcotic dependence;
5.
That
selling, distributing, and prescribing of prescription opioid pain pills is a
hazard to public health and safety, which has created a public nuisance to the
citizens of the County, and said nuisance remains unabated;
6.
That,
in addition to all other powers and duties now conferred by law upon the
County, the County is authorized to enact ordinances, issue orders, and take
other appropriate and necessary actions for the elimination of hazards to
public health and safety and to abate or cause to be abated anything which the
commission determines to be a public nuisance;
7.
That
manufacturers of prescription opioids and those in the chain of distribution
have wrongfully abused the privilege of selling and/or providing medication to
our residents and must be held accountable; and
8.
That
it is the duty of the County to vindicate the rights of the citizens of the
County and take action to abate this public nuisance.
SECTION
6. Retroactive Application.
This
Local Law applies retroactively.
SECTION
7. Severability.
If
any provision, clause, sentence, or paragraph of this Local Law or the
application thereof to any person or circumstance shall be held invalid, such
invalidity shall not affect the other provisions of this Local Law which can be
given effect without the valid provision or application, and to this end the
provisions of this Local Law are declared to be severable.
SECTION
8. Effective Date.
This
Local Law shall take effect upon filing with the Secretary of State.
