Arizona’s 44% state share is held by the state attorney general in the Consumer Remediation Subaccount of the Consumer Restitution and Remediation Revolving Fund.[1]
With limited exceptions,[2] this share must be spent on “Approved Purposes,” defined as the Opioid Abatement Strategies listed in Exhibit A of the One Arizona Agreement. (Exhibit A is identical to the national settlement agreements’ Exhibit E and includes prevention, harm reduction, treatment, recovery, and other strategies.)[3]
Additionally, the One Arizona Agreement provides that the state “will endeavor to prioritize up to 30% of the state share” (13.2% of the state’s total opioid settlement funds) for:
“[O]pioid education and advertising related to awareness, addiction, or treatment;
Department of Corrections and related prison and jail opioid uses; and
[O]pioid interdiction and abatement on Arizona’s southern border, including grants to assist with the building, remodeling and/or operation of centers for treatment, drug testing, medication-assisted treatment services, probation, job training, and/or counseling services, among other programs.”[4]
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office has published a guidance document, “Approved Purposes as Defined in the One Arizona Agreement,” which summarizes the 12 categories of interventions in Exhibit A.
State legislature decides. The Arizona state legislature ultimately decides how to spend the 44% state share of opioid settlement funds.[5] In addition to directly appropriating settlement funds,[6] the legislature also approves disbursed amounts, timeframes, and purposes from an “Expenditure Plan” submitted by the attorney general to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.[7] The state is explicitly empowered to grant its share to organizations.[8]
No, supplantation is not prohibited. Like most states, Arizona does not explicitly prohibit supplantation uses of its opioid settlement funds. This means that the 44% state share may be spent in ways that replace (or “supplant”) — rather than supplement — existing resources.
Yes (public reporting required). View the Arizona Attorney General’s State Distribution Dashboard. The state is required to publish on its website an annual report detailing its settlement expenditures during the prior year.[9]
Visit OpioidSettlementTracker.com’s Expenditure Report Tracker for an updated collection of states’ and localities’ available expenditure reports.
Arizona capped its 2024 legislative session with a heated power struggle between the state attorney general and the governor and state legislature over the use of state opioid settlement funds. More specifically, the state attorney general objected to and filed litigation to stop the governor and state legislature’s plan to use opioid settlement funds to cover shortfalls in the Arizona Department of Corrections’ budget.[10] The governor and state legislature ultimately prevailed, with a state judge dismissing the attorney general’s lawsuit.[11]
One Arizona Distribution of Opioid Settlement Funds Agreement, Secs. A.12, C.5; Ariz. Rev. Stat. Sec. 44-1531.02(C). ↑
One Arizona Distribution of Opioid Settlement Funds Agreement, Secs. C.2 (“All Opioid Funds, except those allocated to payment of counsel and litigation expenses as set forth in Section E, shall be utilized in a manner consistent with the Approved Purposes definition”), E.1 (“The Parties anticipate that any Settlement will provide for the payment of all or a portion of the fees and litigation expenses of certain state and local governments”), E.6 (“No portion of the State Share shall be used for the Backstop Fund or in any other way to fund any Participating Local Government’s attorney’s fees and costs”), E.8 (“The Attorneys’ Fees and Costs schedule for the Settling Distributors is listed in Exhibit R Sec. (II)(S)(1) of the Settlement with the Settling Distributors. The Attorneys’ Fees and Costs schedule for J&J is listed in Exhibit R Sec. (II)(A)(1) of the Settlement with J&J”). ↑
One Arizona Distribution of Opioid Settlement Funds Agreement, Sec. C.8. ↑
Ariz. Rev. Stat. Secs. 44-1531.02(C) (“All monies deposited in the subaccount pursuant to opioid claims-related litigation or settlements are subject to legislative appropriation”), (D) (specifying that the annual “ account must include a separate delineated report that includes the receipts and disbursements for all opioid claims-related litigation monies”). ↑
See, e.g., FY 2025 Final Budget Bills, Pages 2, 4-5, 17, 27, 32, 38, 57-60. Joint Legislative Budget Committee. June 19, 2024. (outlining direct appropriations/transfers of opioid settlement funds to the Department of Corrections, Department of Emergency and Military Affairs, and Department of Health Services). ↑
See, e.g., Minutes of the Meeting of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, Regular Agenda Item #1. October 10, 2023 (approving Attorney General expenditure plan request to use $11.5 million in opioid settlement funds for grants “to counties that established a coordinated reentry planning services program within a county jail … on or before June 30, 2023”). Accessed July 8, 2024. See also State Distribution Dashboard. Arizona Attorney General website. (“The settlement funds allocated to the State are subject to legislative appropriation. The Arizona Legislature approves the amount of the appropriation and the period of time it covers. The State creates an Expenditure Plan for distribution of the funds and submits the plan to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee”). Accessed July 8, 2024. ↑
One Arizona Distribution of Opioid Settlement Funds Agreement, Sec. C.6 (“The State Share shall be used only for (1) Approved Purposes within the State or (2) grants to organizations for Approved Purposes within the State”) (emphasis added). Specific grant programs may be subject to anti-supplantation requirements. See, e.g., Minutes of the Meeting of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, Regular Agenda Item #1. October 10, 2023 (approving Attorney General expenditure plan request to use $11.5 million in opioid settlement funds for grants “to counties that established a coordinated reentry planning services program within a county jail … on or before June 30, 2023, subject to the following provisions: … C. Grants allocated under this section shall supplement and not supplant any existing local funds allocated to coordinated reentry planning services programs”). Accessed July 8, 2024. ↑
One Arizona Distribution of Opioid Settlement Funds Agreement, Sec. F.6 (“No later than September 30 of each year, the State shall publish on its website a report detailing for the preceding fiscal year (1) the amount of the State Share received, (2) the allocation of any awards approved (listing the recipient, the amount awarded, the program to be funded, and disbursement terms), and (3) the amounts disbursed on approved allocations”). ↑
See Howard Fischer. Attorney General threatens suit against lawmakers, governor over fund raid. Arizona Capitol Times. June 14, 2024. (“Attorney General Kris Mayes says if state lawmakers and Gov. Katie Hobbs want to immediately seize $75 million out of an opioid settlement fund to balance the state budget they’re going to have to come and get it”). Accessed July 8, 2024; Cameron Arcand. Attorney General slams budget passed by legislature, takes aim at Hobbs. The Center Square. Jun 17, 2024. Accessed July 8, 2024; Phil Boas. Kris Mayes will regret bludgeoning Arizona leaders with a legal fight. Arizona Republic. June 17, 2024. Accessed July 8, 2024; Jim Small. Judge blocks use of opioid settlement money to balance Arizona’s budget deficit. Arizona Mirror. June 20, 2024. Accessed July 8, 2024; Howard Fischer. Judge stops Arizona from diverting opioid settlement funds, for now. Capitol Media Services. June 20, 2024. Accessed July 8, 2024. See also Attorney General Mayes Releases Statement On State Budget. Arizona Attorney General press release. June 17, 2024 (“I am extremely disappointed our Democratic Governor, along with GOP leadership at our State Legislature, would put our $1.14 billion, 18-year opioid One Arizona Agreement at risk by attempting to sweep opioid funds to backfill budget deficits caused by GOP policies. Though I repeatedly warned them this is an unlawful use of these funds, they proceeded with moving forward anyway. … I have stated publicly and very clearly that I refuse to release these funds in this way as it would violate the agreement, and I stand by those words today. This is an egregious grab. I will do everything in my power to protect these opioid settlement funds for all Arizonans”). ↑
See Joe Dana. Judge rules against AG Kris Mayes in opioid funds question. 12 News. June 25, 2024. (“Mayes said she plans to closely monitor how 'each penny' of the settlement is spent by the ADCRR. 'I continue to believe the move by the Legislature and the Governor to sweep these funds in this manner is wrong,' Mayes said in a statement. 'I also believe that this move in a very real way puts at risk future settlement payments'”). Accessed July 8, 2024. See also Gloria Rebecca Gomez. Hobbs, GOP leaders: Mayes owes attorney’s fees for opioid settlement lawsuit. Arizona Mirror. June 28, 2024. Accessed July 8, 2024. ↑