§ 5 §20005 — Powers and duties

The department shall:
1.
State Government.
Establish the overall plans, policies, objectives and priorities for all state substance use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery functions, except the prevention of drug traffic and the State Employee Assistance Program established pursuant to Title 22, chapter 254‑A;
2.
Comprehensive plan.
Develop and provide for the implementation of a comprehensive state plan for substance use disorder. Any plan developed by the department must be subject to public hearing prior to implementation;
3.
Information.
Ensure the collection, analysis and dissemination of information for planning and evaluation of substance use disorder services;
4.
Coordination; organizational unit.
Ensure that substance use disorder assistance and service are delivered in an efficient and coordinated program and, with the oversight of the commission, coordinate all programs and activities authorized by the federal Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention, Treatment and Rehabilitation Act of 1970, Public Law 91-616 (1982), as amended, and by the Drug Abuse Office and Treatment Act of 1972, 21 United States Code, Section 1101 et seq. (1982), as amended; and other state or federal programs or laws related to substance use disorder prevention that are not the specific responsibility of another state agency under federal or state law;
5.
Budget.
Develop and submit to the Legislature by January 15th of the first year of each legislative biennium recommendations for continuing and supplemental allocations, deappropriations or reduced allocations and appropriations from all funding sources for all state substance use disorder programs. The department shall make final recommendations to the Governor before any substance use disorder funds are appropriated or deappropriated in the Governor's proposed budget. The department shall formulate all budgetary recommendations for the Driver Education and Evaluation Programs with the advice, consultation and full participation of the chief executive officer of the Driver Education and Evaluation Programs.
6.
Contracts and licensing.
Through the commissioner:
6-A.
Contract award and renewal.
Award a new contract through a request-for-proposal procedure. Any contract of $500,000 per year or more that is renewed must be awarded through a request-for-proposal procedure at least every 8 years, except for the following.
6-B.
Consumer assistance and advice.
Establish a procedure to obtain assistance and advice from consumers of substance use disorder services regarding the selection of contractors when requests-for-proposals are issued.
7.
Uniform requirements.
Develop, use and require the use of uniform contracting, information gathering and reporting formats by any state-funded substance use disorder programs. Contracting standards must include measurable performance-based criteria on which funding allocations are, in part, based;
8.
Reports.
By January 15th of each year, report to the Legislature on the accomplishments of the past year's programs, the progress toward obtaining goals and objectives of the comprehensive state plan and other necessary or desirable information;
9.
Funds.
Have the authority to seek and receive funds from the Federal Government and private sources to further the purposes of this Act;
10.
Agreements.
Enter into agreements necessary or incidental to the purposes of this Act;
11.
Cooperation.
Provide support and guidance to individuals, local governments, public organizations and private organizations in their substance use disorder prevention activities;
12.
Rules.
Adopt rules, in accordance with the Maine Administrative Procedure Act, necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter and approve any rules adopted by state agencies for the purpose of implementing substance use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery programs.
12-A.
Training programs.
Provide or assist in the provision of training programs for all persons in the field of treating persons with substance use disorder, persons engaged in the prevention of substance use disorder or any other organization or individual in need of or requesting training or other educational information related to substance use disorder;
12-B.
Motor vehicle operator programs.
Administer and oversee the operation of the State's programs related to the use of alcohol by motor vehicle operators;
13.
General authority.
Perform other acts or exercise any other powers necessary or convenient to carry out the purposes of this chapter;
14.
Interdepartmental cooperation.
Document to the Legislature's satisfaction active participation and cooperation between the department and the other departments with which it works through the commission;
15.
Public input.
Document an active, aggressive effort to obtain client and public input on its decision-making process through public hearings and other activities conducted by the commission;
16.
Substance use disorder services plan.
Plan for those services funded directly by the department and those additional services determined by the commission to be critical and related;
17.
Program services assessment and implementation.
Analyze the existing services system, including the prevention services offered within the State's public school systems, identify gaps, strengths and weaknesses in the current services, identify priorities for expanding or revising the existing services and develop a specific plan to accomplish the most critical changes that are needed;
18.
Comprehensive training strategy.
Establish a comprehensive training strategy designed to develop the capacity of front-line staff in direct human services positions, including appropriate state agency staff, to recognize, assess and refer chemically dependent clients for appropriate treatment;
19.
Fiscal and program accountability.
Enhance its current efforts to ensure fiscal and program accountability for the services it purchases and provides; and
20.
Review policies.
Review the full range of public policies and strategies existing in State Government to identify changes that would strengthen its response, identify policies that might discourage excessive consumption of alcohol and other drugs and generate new funding for alcohol and other drug services;
21.
List of banned performance-enhancing substances.
Develop and maintain a list of banned performance-enhancing substances in accordance with Title 20‑A, section 6621;
22.
Certification of recovery residences.
Establish by rule criteria for the certification of recovery residences. The criteria for the certification of recovery residences must be based on criteria for recovery residences developed by a nationally recognized organization that supports persons recovering from substance use disorder. Certification of a recovery residence pursuant to this subsection is voluntary. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine technical rules as defined in chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A; and
23.
Treatment center.
Establish one treatment center for substance use disorder treatment that, at a minimum, offers mental health and crisis stabilization services offered by the crisis receiving center in Portland and aligned with United States Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration standards for crisis care and the standards for crisis care of a national association of state mental health program directors. The treatment center must be located in Kennebec County. The treatment center may have at least 10 beds and offer medically managed withdrawal services. Services offered by the treatment center must be available to all individuals regardless of insurance. The treatment center established pursuant to this subsection shall provide:

Legislative History

PL 1989, c. 934, §A3 (NEW). PL 1991, c. 557, §§1,2 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 601, §§6,7 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 792 (AMD). PL 1991, c. 850, §§3,4 (AMD). PL 1993, c. 349, §21 (AMD). PL 1993, c. 410, §§LL7-10 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 560, §§L4,5 (AMD). PL 1995, c. 560, §L16 (AFF). PL 1997, c. 381, §1 (AMD). PL 1997, c. 588, §1 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 673, §V1 (AMD). PL 2003, c. 673, §V29 (AFF). PL 2003, c. 689, §B6 (REV). PL 2005, c. 674, §§1,2 (AMD). PL 2007, c. 116, §§3, 4 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 542, Pt. A, §6 (AMD). PL 2011, c. 657, Pt. AA, §§16-22 (AMD). PL 2017, c. 407, Pt. A, §25 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 398, §1 (AMD). PL 2019, c. 524, §§7-12 (AMD). PL 2023, c. 412, Pt. WWW, §§1-3 (AMD). PL 2023, c. 643, Pt. QQQ, §1 (AMD).