Gneral Assembly considers AG Herring’s bills to create Office of Civil Rights; Opioid Abatement Authority

On January 27, 2021,  the General Assembly committees considered two landmark pieces of legislation from Attorney General Mark Herring. The first bill, carried by House Majority Leader Charniele Herring, will make AG Herring’s Office of Civil Rights a permanent fixture of the Office of Attorney General. The second, carried by Senator George Barker, will create a framework to support opioid abuse prevention, treatment, and recovery using funds recovered as part of AG Herring’s lawsuits against opioid manufacturers and distributors.

What: HB2147, Making permanent the creation of the Office of Civil Rights within the Office of Attorney General (Delegate Charniele Herring)
Who: House Courts of Justice Committee (Docket here)
When: 1 p.m.

Attorney General Herring created the Office of Civil Rights within the Office of Attorney General to expand, enhance, and centralize his ongoing work to protect Virginians from discrimination and to secure and expand the rights of all Virginians. The designation of the Office of Civil Rights was the culmination of a multi-year plan to expand the authority and resources dedicated to protecting the civil rights of Virginians and to place the protection of civil rights at the center of the mission of the Office of Attorney General.

This legislation will make the Office of Civil Rights a permanent feature of the Office of Attorney General, ensuring that the protection of Virginians’ civil rights will always be a priority. This year’s legislation has been developed in conjunction with House Majority Leader Charniele Herring after previous efforts by Del. Alfonso Lopez and AG Herring to create an Office of Civil Rights were blocked in Republican-controlled committees.

What: SB 1469, Establishing the Opioid Abatement Authority (Sen. Barker)
Who: Senate Committee on General Laws and Technology (Docket here)
When: 30 minutes after adjournment of the floor session

This bill will create a structure and framework for ensuring that “opioid abatement” funds recovered as part of AG Herring’s ongoing lawsuits and investigations against opioid manufacturers and distributors are used to fund opioid abuse prevention, treatment, and recovery, rather than diverted to other uses. It will establish an Opioid Abatement Authority controlled by subject-matter experts who will ensure that funds are used wisely to support prevention, treatment, and recovery.

The opioid crisis has been one of Attorney General Herring’s top priorities, and as part of this work he has focused on accountability for pharmaceutical manufacturers and distributors who helped create, prolong, and profit from the opioid crisis in Virginia and around the country. Attorney General Herring has filed suit against Purdue Pharma; the Sackler Family, owners of Purdue Pharma; and Teva/Cephalon for the roles that they played in creating the opioid epidemic. Additionally, Attorney General Herring reached a $1.6 billion global settlement with Mallinckrodt that came as part of a multistate investigation into opioid manufacturers and distributors, and additional multistate efforts remain ongoing.