Emergency clause. In view of the emergency cited in the preamble, this Act takes effect when approved.

SUMMARY

This bill implements the recommendations of the Legislative Youth Advisory Council. The bill:

1. Requires the Commissioner of Education, the Secretary of State and the Director of the Office of Substance Abuse within the Department of Behavioral and Developmental Services to develop recommendations for the establishment of a permanent youth advisory committee within the Executive Branch to serve as a resource for any state agency charged with developing, implementing or enforcing programs, policies or laws that apply specifically to youth;

2. Requires the Director of the Office of Substance Abuse to review the procedures used by the office for collecting information on drug and alcohol use among youth, including a review of Washington State's "Healthy Youth Survey," and to report back to the Legislative Youth Advisory Council on options to the existing Maine Youth Drug and Alcohol Use Survey tool that include a more appropriate survey tool and a methodology based on random sampling that provides statistically valid data at the state level and within participating local school districts and expanding the target population of the survey to include not only students who attend school but also home-schooled students and youth who attend school infrequently or have dropped out of school.

3. Requires the Director of the Office of Substance Abuse to review procedures used by the office for awarding grants for youth-related drug and alcohol abuse prevention programs and services to ensure that those grants are being awarded to programs with the highest demonstrated level of effectiveness and in those areas of the State having the highest demonstrated need;

4. Requires the Director of the Office of Substance Abuse and the Commissioner of Education to review and report on procedures for preparing and training teachers and others who administer the Maine Youth Drug and Alcohol Use Survey in the