Public Health - Buprenorphine - Training Grant Program and Workgroup

HB 1131 establishes a grant program to help Maryland counties cover costs for training paramedics to administer buprenorphine, a medication used to treat opioid overdoses. The bill directs the Maryland Office of Overdose Response to create a workgroup to study state-wide access to buprenorphine. Funding for the program comes from the Opioid Restitution Fund, as explicitly added to the fund's authorized uses under Section 7-331(f)(5) of the State Finance and Procurement Article. This directly affects counties seeking to expand emergency medical services for opioid emergencies and paramedics receiving specialized training. The bill focuses on concrete policy changes: creating a dedicated grant stream and requiring a state-level access study.