7508.1 - Substance Abuse Education and Demand Reduction Fund.
§ 7508.1. Substance Abuse Education and Demand Reduction Fund. (a) Establishment.--The Substance Abuse Education and Demand Reduction Fund is hereby established as an account in the State Treasury. This fund shall be administered by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency and shall be comprised of costs imposed and collected in accordance with the provisions of this section. All moneys in the fund and the interest accruing thereon are hereby appropriated, upon approval of the Governor, to the commission to carry out the provisions of this section. (b) Imposition.--Unless the court finds that undue hardship would result, a mandatory cost of $100, which shall be in addition to any other costs imposed pursuant to statutory authority, shall automatically be assessed on any individual convicted, adjudicated delinquent or granted Accelerated Rehabilitative Disposition or any individual who pleads guilty or nolo contendere for a violation of the act of April 14, 1972 (P.L.233, No.64), known as The Controlled Substance, Drug, Device and Cosmetic Act, or a violation of 75 Pa.C.S. § 3802 (relating to driving under influence of alcohol or controlled substance). (c) Additional assessment.--In addition to the assessment required by subsection (b), a person convicted of or adjudicated delinquent for a violation of 75 Pa.C.S. § 3802 shall be assessed $200 where the amount of alcohol by weight in the blood of the person is equal to or greater than 0.16% at the time a chemical test is performed on a sample of the person's breath, blood or urine. For the purposes of this subsection, the sample of the person's blood, breath or urine shall be taken within two hours after the person is placed under arrest. (d) Collection.--Costs imposed under this section shall be collected in accordance with local court rules by the clerk of courts in the county where the violation has occurred. Of the amount collected, 50% shall remain in that county to be used for substance abuse treatment or prevention programs and the remaining 50% shall be deposited into the Substance Abuse Education and Demand Reduction Fund established under this section. (e) Application.--All costs provided for in this section shall be in addition to and not in lieu of any fine authorized by law or required to be imposed under the act of November 24, 1998 (P.L.882, No.111), known as the Crime Victims Act, or any other law. Nothing in this section shall be construed to affect, suspend or diminish any other criminal sanction, penalty or property forfeiture permitted by law. (f) Grants.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the commission shall, upon written application and subsequent approval, use moneys received under this section to annually award grants to approved applicants in the following manner: (1) (i) Subject to the provisions of subparagraph (ii), 45% of grant moneys deposited into the fund each fiscal year shall be made available to nonprofit organizations to provide research-based approaches to prevention, intervention, training, treatment and education services to reduce substance abuse or to provide resources to assist families in assessing the services. Nonprofit organizations may jointly apply for grant moneys with a local government unit but shall not be required to do so. (ii) (A) Up to 20% of grant moneys available under subparagraph (i) may be used to: (I) Assist in the start-up of victim impact panel programs under 75 Pa.C.S. § 3804(f.1) (relating to penalties). (II) Study the impact outcome and benefits of victim impact panels within this Commonwealth, including the impact of victim impact panels on driving under the influence recidivism and their impact on the well-being of participating victims. (III) Provide assistance for the ongoing operation of victim impact panels. (B) An applicant for a grant under this subparagraph may be an entity other than a nonprofit organization. (2) Twenty percent of grant moneys deposited into the fund each fiscal year shall be made available to eligible organizations to educate youth, caregivers of youth and employers about the dangers of substance abuse and to increase the awareness of the benefits of a drug-free Pennsylvania through media-related efforts that may include public service announcements, public awareness campaigns and media literacy. (3) Twenty percent of grant moneys deposited into the fund each fiscal year shall be made available to eligible organizations to educate employers, unions and employees about the dangers of substance abuse in the workplace and provide comprehensive drug-free workplace programs and technical resources for businesses, including, but not limited to, training for working parents to keep their children drug free. (4) Ten percent of the grant moneys deposited into the fund each fiscal year shall be transferred annually to the Community Drug Abuse Prevention Grant Program within the Office of Attorney General. (g) Administration.--The commission shall develop guidelines and procedures necessary to implement the grant program. The commission shall equitably distribute grant moneys to approved applicants under subsection (f)(1) and eligible organizations under subsection (f)(2) and (3). Each fiscal year the commission shall make available grant moneys equaling, except for funds to be transferred under subsection (f)(4) and administrative funds as provided for in this subsection, the balance of moneys deposited into the fund as of June 30 of the previous fiscal year. No more than 5% of total moneys deposited in the fund during a fiscal year may be used by the commission to administer the provisions of this section. (h) Other initiatives.--Funds disbursed under this section shall not supplant Federal, State or local funds that would have otherwise been made available for substance abuse prevention, education, support, treatment and outreach initiatives. (i) Definitions.--As used in this section, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings given to them in this subsection: "Commission." The Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency. "Eligible organization." A Statewide organization that meets all of the following requirements: (1) Possesses five or more consecutive years of experience carrying out substance abuse education and demand reduction or substance abuse treatment programs. (2) Maintains a drug-free workplace policy. (3) Has as its purpose the reduction of substance abuse. "Fund." The Substance Abuse Education and Demand Reduction Fund established by this section. (Dec. 9, 2002, P.L.1539, No.198, eff. 60 days; Sept. 30, 2003, P.L.120, No.24, eff. Feb. 1, 2004; May 11, 2006, P.L.155, No.36, eff. imd.) 2006 Amendment. Act 36 amended subsecs. (f), (g) and (i). See the preamble to Act 36 in the appendix to this title for special provisions relating to legislative findings and declarations. 2003 Amendment. Act 24 amended subsecs. (b) and (c). 2002 Amendment. Act 198 added section 7508.1.