DHS-OVERDOSE PREVENTION SITES

Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HB2929

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
HB2929

Introduced 2/6/2025, by Rep. La Shawn K. Ford

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

20 ILCS 301/5-26 new

Amends the Substance Use Disorder Act. Requires the Department of
Human Services to establish a mechanism to collect research and data
regarding overdose prevention sites (OPSs) and prepare a report for the
General Assembly within 12 months after the effective date of the
amendatory Act. Provides that the report shall contain information on (1)
current research on the effectiveness of an OPS as an overdose prevention
strategy; (2) OPS best practices for staffing, placement, and activities;
and (3) the benefits and challenges of different OPS models - structures
and settings. Requires the Department, in collaboration with people with
lived experience, to develop a pilot service, subject to available
funding, aimed at saving the lives of people who use substances that shall
include the establishment of at least one OPS. Requires the pilot OPSs to
offer people, who are most likely to use drugs in public, unobserved,
high-risk, and unsanitary locations, a safe space to use pre-obtained
substances and connect to community supports or other existing treatment
and recovery programs, harm reduction services, and health care. Contains
provisions concerning certain principles pilot OPSs must abide by; OPS
staffing and location requirements; pilot OPS services; and other matters.
Permits the Department to approve an entity to operate a pilot program in
one or more jurisdictions. Grants criminal and civil immunity to persons
who use pilot OPSs services; pilot OPS staff; and any real property owner
upon which the OPS site is located or operates. Contains provisions on
public awareness outreach; OPS reporting requirements; home rule
exemption; and other matters. Effective immediately.
LRB104 12092 KTG 22190 b

A BILL FOR

HB2929
LRB104 12092 KTG 22190 b
1

AN ACT concerning State government.

2

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3
represented in the General Assembly:

4

Section 5.
The Substance Use Disorder Act is amended by
5
adding Section 5-26 as follows:

6

(20 ILCS 301/5-26 new)
7

Sec. 5-26.
Harm reduction services.

8

(a) Legislative findings. The General Assembly finds the
9
following:
10

(1) Illinois is experiencing a growing overdose
11

crisis. According to the Centers for Disease Control and
12

Prevention, over 4,000 Illinoisans died from overdoses
13

between January 2021 and January 2022, a 12.6% increase
14

from the previous year. Most of those preventable deaths
15

involved opioids.
16

(2) A significant reason for the increase in deaths is
17

a poisoned drug supply, with illicit fentanyl killing
18

people using street-bought substances. With the increasing
19

use of potent fentanyl in the illicit substance supply in
20

Illinois, more lives will continue to be lost.
21

(3) Nearly all witnessed opioid overdoses are
22

reversible with the provision of oxygen, naloxone, and
23

other emergency care. However, many people use drugs alone

HB2929
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LRB104 12092 KTG 22190 b
1

or use them with people who do not have naloxone and are
2

not trained in overdose response.
3

(4) Overdose prevention sites can save lives. Overdose
4

prevention sites provide individuals with a safe, hygienic
5

space to consume pre-obtained drugs and access to other
6

harm reduction, treatment, recovery, and ancillary support
7

services.
8

(5) The goals of overdose prevention sites are:
9

(A) Saving lives by quickly providing emergency
10

care to persons experiencing an overdose.
11

(B) Reducing the spread of infectious diseases,
12

such as HIV and hepatitis.
13

(C) Reducing public injection of substances and
14

discarded syringes in surrounding areas.
15

(D) Linking those with substance use disorders to
16

behavioral and physical health supports.
17

(b) Definitions. As used in this Section:
18

"Entity" means (i) any community-based organization that
19
provides educational, health, harm reduction, housing, or
20
social services and (ii) any hospital, medical clinic or
21
office, health center, community-based mental health center,
22
or other similar entity that provides medical care.
23

"Harm reduction" refers to a philosophical framework and
24
set of strategies designed to reduce harm and promote dignity
25
and well-being among persons and communities who engage in
26
substance use.

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LRB104 12092 KTG 22190 b
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"Overdose prevention sites" means hygienic locations where
2
individuals may safely consume pre-obtained substances.
3

"Participant" means an individual who seeks to utilize,
4
utilizes, or has utilized services provided at an overdose
5
prevention site established in accordance with this Section.
6

(c) The Department shall establish a mechanism to collect
7
research and data regarding overdose prevention sites (OPSs)
8
and prepare a report for the General Assembly within 12 months
9
after the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 104th
10
General Assembly. The Department may identify collaborators
11
across other Departments and State universities. The report
12
shall contain information on:

13

(1) The current research on the effectiveness of an
14

OPS as an overdose prevention strategy.
15

(2) OPS best practices for staffing, placement, and
16

activities.
17

(3) The benefits and challenges of different OPS
18

models - structures and settings.

19

(d) The Department, in collaboration with people with
20
lived experience, shall develop a pilot service, subject to
21
available funding, aimed at saving the lives of people who use
22
substances that shall include the establishment of at least
23
one OPS. Pilot OPSs shall offer people, who are most likely to
24
use drugs in public, unobserved, high-risk, and unsanitary
25
locations, a safe space to use pre-obtained substances and
26
connect to community supports or other existing treatment and

HB2929
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LRB104 12092 KTG 22190 b
1
recovery programs, harm reduction services, and health care.

2

(e) Pilot OPSs shall abide by the following principles:
3

(1) Nothing About Us Without Us: OPS programs and
4

services shall be formulated with transparency, community
5

involvement, and direct input by people who use
6

substances.
7

(2) Equity: OPS staff and programs shall provide equal
8

support, services, and resources to all participants and
9

ensure accessibility to the greatest extent possible.
10

(3) Harm Reduction: OPS shall prioritize individual
11

dignity and autonomy in decision-making while encouraging
12

people to reduce high-risk behaviors.
13

(4) OPS shall affirm the humanity and dignity of
14

people who use substances and shall be operated in a way
15

that is safe, clean, inclusive, and welcoming to reduce
16

stigma and build trust.
17

(5) OPS shall prioritize relationship-building and
18

trust among staff and participants in order to create safe
19

spaces and provide increased opportunities to connect with
20

additional services that promote health and well-being.
21

(f) Staffing.
22

(1) OPS staff, at a minimum, shall consist of trained
23

peers with lived experience of substance use or overdose,
24

along with other necessary professionals such as community
25

health workers, behavioral health professionals,
26

physicians, nurses, or medical personnel who have been

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1

trained in overdose responses.
2

(2) A majority of the OPS staff shall include peers.
3

(3) Staffing decisions must ensure that participants
4

utilize the service, feel safe, and are connected to
5

resources.
6

(4) The Department may not prohibit persons with
7

criminal records from frontline, management, or executive
8

positions within entities that operate an OPS.
9

(g) Location. Pilot OPSs shall be established in physical
10
locations with high need determined by rates of overdoses and
11
substance use; and as a natural development or extension of
12
existing harm reduction and outreach programming. Priority
13
shall be given to communities that have the highest number of
14
fatal and non-fatal overdoses as determined by public health
15
data from the Department of Public Health. Pilot OPSs shall
16
specifically target high-risk and socially marginalized drug
17
users in a municipality with a population greater than
18
2,500,000, not to exceed 12 months from implementation.
19

(h) Pilot OPS features. Pilot OPSs shall at a minimum:
20

(1) provide a hygienic space where participants may
21

consume their pre-obtained substances;
22

(2) maintain a supply of naloxone and oxygen on-site,
23

together with the necessary equipment to administer
24

naloxone and oxygen;

25

(3) monitor participants for potential overdose;
26

(4) employ staff trained to administer first aid to

HB2929
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1

participants who are experiencing an overdose;
2

(5) provide sterile injection or other substance use
3

supplies, collect used hypodermic needles and syringes,
4

and provide secure hypodermic needle and syringe disposal
5

services in compliance with the Overdose Prevention and
6

Harm Reduction Act and any applicable rules adopted by the
7

Department of Public Health;
8

(6) provide safer smoking and safer snorting kits;
9

(7) provide naloxone;
10

(8) encourage drug checking or the use of fentanyl
11

test strips;
12

(9) provide education on safe consumption practices,
13

the proper disposal of hypodermic needles and syringes,
14

and overdose prevention;
15

(10) provide referrals to substance use disorder and
16

mental health treatment, medication-assisted treatment or
17

recovery, and other services which address social
18

determinants of health which include Housing First
19

programs;
20

(11) offer a quiet and comfortable space for
21

participants to stay safely sheltered and supervised after
22

consuming substances; and
23

(12) train staff members and volunteers to deliver
24

services offered at the overdose prevention site, and
25

maintain an adequate staff of health care professionals or
26

other trained staff or volunteers. Trainings shall be

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conducted and partnered with established harm reduction
2

professionals.
3

(i) Other OPS program design and implementation shall be
4
informed by the target community and the report submitted to
5
the General Assembly.
6

(j) The Department may approve an entity to operate a
7
pilot program in one or more jurisdictions upon satisfaction
8
of the requirements set forth in this Section. The Department
9
shall establish standards for program approval and training.

10

(k) Immunity provided. Notwithstanding the Illinois
11
Controlled Substances Act, the Drug Paraphernalia Control Act,
12
or any other provision of law to the contrary, the following
13
persons shall not be arrested, charged, or prosecuted for any
14
criminal offense or violation of parole, mandatory supervised
15
release, probation, or conditional discharge, or be subject to
16
any civil or administrative penalty, including seizure or
17
forfeiture of assets or real property or disciplinary action
18
by a professional licensing board, or be denied any right or
19
privilege solely for participation or involvement at an
20
overdose prevention site approved by the Department under this
21
Act:

22

(1) any individual who seeks to utilize, utilizes, or
23

has utilized services provided at an overdose prevention
24

site established in accordance with this Section;
25

(2) a staff member or administrator of an overdose
26

prevention site, including a healthcare professional,

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LRB104 12092 KTG 22190 b
1

manager, employee, or volunteer; and
2

(3) an individual who owns real property at which an
3

overdose prevention site is located or operates.
4

Notwithstanding any other law, ordinance, or regulation,
5
any entity licensed as an OPS Harm Reduction Services provider
6
may operate an overdose prevention site as authorized by the
7
Department.
8

(l) The Department shall help educate local communities
9
and public and private entities, such as public safety
10
organizations, social service groups, school districts, faith
11
communities, and businesses, about overdose prevention sites
12
and the evidence regarding the benefits of overdose prevention
13
sites.
14

(m) Reporting. An entity operating an overdose prevention
15
site in accordance with this Section shall, within the time
16
frame specified by the Department, submit a report to the
17
Department that shall include:
18

(1) the number of participants who have received or
19

are receiving services at the overdose prevention site;
20

(2) aggregate information regarding the
21

characteristics of those participants reported under
22

paragraph (1);
23

(3) the number of hypodermic needles, syringes, and
24

harm reduction supplies distributed for use on-site;
25

(4) the number of overdoses experienced and the number
26

of overdoses reversed on-site;

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1

(5) the number of participants directly and formally
2

referred to other services and the type of services.
3

In compiling the report required under this subsection, an
4
entity operating an overdose prevention site shall exclude all
5
personally identifiable information and adhere to all federal
6
regulations concerning the confidentiality of substance use
7
disorder patient records under Part 2, Subchapter A, Chapter
8
1, Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations as that Part
9
existed on December 20, 2024.
10

(n) Home rule preemption. A home rule unit may not
11
prohibit the establishment or operation of an overdose
12
prevention site as provided in this Section. This Section is a
13
denial and limitation of home rule powers and functions under
14
subsection (g) of Section 6 of Article VII of the Illinois
15
Constitution.

16

Section 99.
Effective date.
This Act takes effect upon
17
becoming law.

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