42 U.S.C. § 247d–10 — Pilot program for public health laboratories to detect fentanyl and other synthetic opioids

(a) Grants. The Secretary of Health and Human Services must give grants, or make cooperative agreements, to federal, state, and local agencies. The goal is to improve how public health labs work with law enforcement labs — like those run by Customs and Border Protection and the Drug Enforcement Administration — to better detect synthetic opioids, including fentanyl and its chemical variants, as described in subsection (b). (b) Detection activities. The Secretary must work with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Attorney General, and the Drug Enforcement Administration to develop or identify: (1) best practices for safely handling and testing synthetic opioids, including fentanyl and its variants — covering things like reference materials, calibrating instruments, and quality control; (2) reference materials and quality standards for synthetic opioids that improve (A) clinical diagnosis, (B) collecting data after deaths, and (C) portable testing devices used by law enforcement and public health workers; and (3) procedures for spotting new and emerging synthetic opioid formulas, and for reporting those findings to the right law enforcement agencies and public health labs and departments. (c) Laboratories. The Secretary must require anyone who gets a grant or cooperative agreement under subsection (a) to: (1) follow the best practices from subsection (b) and be able to test controlled substances, like synthetic fentanyl, and biological samples, then report public health information to federal, state, and local officials and other appropriate groups; (2) work with law enforcement agencies and public health authorities when practical; (3) give early warning information to federal, state, and local law enforcement and public health authorities about trends in the synthetic opioid supply; (4) track trends in bad health effects from non-fatal exposures; and (5) offer diagnostic testing, when practical, for non-fatal exposures suffered by emergency workers, first responders, and others. (d) Authorization of appropriations. Congress can spend $15,000,000 each year from 2019 through 2023 to carry out this section.