Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant: Waiver for U.S. Territories (Other Than Puerto Rico) of Synar Program Requirements

In keeping with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's (SAMHSA) delegation of authority from the Secretary and in compliance with title XIX, subpart II, section 1932(c) and with section 1926 of the Public Health Service Act, SAMHSA is issuing the following guidance to be used in determining whether to approve a U.S. Territory's request for a waiver from the requirements of section 1926 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act (the Synar Amendment), and its implementing regulations, 45 CFR 96.130. This guidance will become effective only at such time that an appropriation act for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) does not contain a prohibition on penalizing the territories under section 1926 of the PHS Act that receive less than $1,000,000. (See, e.g., section 214 of Departments of Labor Health and Human Services, and Education, and Related Agencies Appropriation Act, Pub. L. 107-116 (Jan. 10, 2002).) SAMHSA, however, is seeking comment from the public on this guidance. Section 1926 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act and its implementing regulation, require each State, the District of Columbia and each U.S. Territory, as a condition for receiving a Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment (SAPT) Block Grant award, to enact and enforce laws making illegal the sale or distribution of tobacco products to individuals under the age of 18 years. States, the District of Columbia and the Territories are also required to annually conduct unannounced inspections of tobacco retail outlets to ensure compliance with the law. These inspections must be based on a statistically valid random sample of retail outlets across the State, the District of Columbia or the Territory. Additionally, States, the District of Columbia and Territories are required, unless extraordinary circumstances exist, to meet negotiated annual retailer violation target rates, and to annually submit a report to the Secretary describing their activities to enforce the laws and reduce the availability of tobacco products to minors. Section 1926 also stipulates that any State, the District of Columbia or Territory failing to meet the requirements stated above may receive a 40 percent penalty against their SAPT Block Grant. Section 1932(c) of the PHS Act authorizes the Secretary, in the case of any territory of the United States except Puerto Rico, to waive such provisions of this subpart II and subpart III as the Secretary determines to be appropriate, * * *'' The reference is to subpart II and III of title XIX of the PHS Act which authorize the SAPT Block Grant. This discretionary authority extends to section 1926. This authority has been delegated by the Secretary to the Administrator of SAMHSA. This guidance explains the conditions under which the Administrator of SAMHSA, in his discretion, will grant a waiver for any Territory other than Puerto Rico from the requirements of section 1926.