1/3 State Share
Where do these monies live?
Arkansas’ 1/3 state share is distributed to the state “acting through” its Governor and Attorney General,[1] although actual practice suggests that the funds reside with the state Attorney General.[2]
What can this share be spent on?
Though the Arkansas Opioids Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) states that this share is “allocated” to Medicaid claw-back costs and attorneys’ fees,[3] this share is spent on abatement purposes as well.[4]
Who ultimately decides how to spend this share (and how)?
State Attorney General decides. The Arkansas Attorney General’s Office, which ultimately decides specific expenditures for this share,[5] has distributed its share as grants to law enforcement, organization, and agency recipients.[6]
Are supplantation uses prohibited for this share?
No, supplantation is not prohibited. Arkansas does not explicitly prohibit supplantation uses of its opioid settlement funds from the 1/3 state share. This means that the state may spend funds from its share in ways that replace (or “supplant”) — rather than supplement — existing resources.
Can I see how this share has been spent?
No (neither public nor intrastate reporting required). There are no reporting requirements applicable to this share and no official expenditure information.
Visit OpioidSettlementTracker.com’s Expenditure Report Tracker for an updated collection of states’ and localities’ available expenditure reports.
What else should I know?
Not applicable.
Citations
See Over 1,300 Register for Stop Overdose Summit, Attorney General Griffin Announces More Than $1 Million in Grants to Prevent and Treat Opioid Addiction. Arkansas Attorney General press release. November 8, 2023. Accessed July 8, 2024; Griffin Grants $50 Million in Settlement Funds to Establish First-of-its-Kind National Pediatric Opioid Research Center at Arkansas Children’s. Arkansas Attorney General press release. November 9, 2023. Accessed July 8, 2024. Administrative Office of the Courts Awards $1 Million to Adult Drug Courts, Delivers Naloxone Boxes for Every Courtroom in Arkansas. Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts press release. May 15, 2024. Accessed July 8, 2024 (“The Arkansas Attorney General’s Office provided the funds to AOC as part of the state’s opioid litigation settlement allocation”). ↑
Arkansas Opioids Memorandum of Understanding, Sec. 2.5. The settlement agreements define allowable costs to include Exhibit E interventions, administrative costs, Medicaid claw-back, and attorneys’ fees. ↑
See Arkansas Opioids Memorandum of Understanding, Sec. 2.2; previously cited press releases from the Arkansas Attorney General and Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts. ↑
Arkansas’ governing documents provide that both the state’s Attorney General and Governor control this share. See Arkansas Opioids Memorandum of Understanding, Secs. 1.15 (defining “State” to mean the governor and state attorney general), 2.2 (directing 1/3 allocation to “State Share”). However, recent disbursements from the state share identify only the Arkansas Attorney General’s office as granting these funds and do not clarify what role, if any, the Governor plays in the state’s opioid settlement spending scheme. See also Michael R. Wickline. Griffin transfers opioid settlement funds back to attorney general’s office. Arkansas Democrat Gazette. February 23, 2023. Accessed July 8, 2024. ↑
See press releases regarding state share opioid settlement spend, e.g., Over 1,300 Register for Stop Overdose Summit, Attorney General Griffin Announces More than $1 million in Grants to Prevent and Treat Opioid Addiction. Arkansas Attorney General press release. November 8, 2023. Accessed September 1, 2024 (announcing $232,880 grant to law enforcement for naloxone and $770,000 to Arkansas Mobile Opioid Recovery (ARMOR)), Griffin Grants $50 Million in Settlement Funds to Establish First-of-its-Kind National Pediatric Opioid Research Center at Arkansas Children’s. Arkansas Attorney General press release. November 9, 2023. Accessed September 1, 2024 (announcing $50 million grant to “help establish” the National Center for Opioid Research & Clinical Effectiveness (NCOR)), Administrative Office of the Courts Awards $1 Million to Adult Drug Courts, Delivers Naloxone Boxes for Every Courtroom in Arkansas. AOC press release. May 15, 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024 (announcing $1 million grant by AG to the Administrative Office of the Courts to 45 existing drug court programs). ↑
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