Substitute House Bill No. 6696 addresses the management of Connecticut's Opioid Settlement Fund and introduces new requirements for pharmacists dispensing opioid drugs. Starting July 1, 2023, pharmacists must provide patients with a personal opioid drug deactivation and disposal product at no charge when dispensing an opioid drug, contingent upon the availability of sufficient funds in the Opioid Settlement Fund to cover the expenses. The bill allows pharmacists to seek reimbursement for these expenses from the Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee and expands the fund's permissible uses to include covering these costs. The bill includes legal insertions related to the file number and sections affected, and a deletion that removes a conjunction to accommodate the new provision for reimbursement. Additionally, the Commissioner of Consumer Protection is authorized to adopt regulations for the implementation of these requirements.

Furthermore, the bill expands the pilot peer navigator program for individuals with opioid use disorder to a statewide program and permits the use of Opioid Settlement Fund money to administer it. The bill also allocates $400,000 from the fund in FY 24 for the distribution of pharmacy warning stickers and labels for opioid drugs. The Opioid Settlement Fund, established by PA 22-48, is overseen by a 37-member advisory committee and the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. It comprises funds from opioid-related legal actions and is utilized in accordance with the stipulations of the judgements, consent decrees, or settlements as verified by the attorney general and approved by the advisory committee and the Office of Policy and Management secretary.