10% Infrastructure Share
Where do these monies live?
This share is distributed by Colorado Opioid Abatement Council (COAC) to regions, local governments, and state agencies.[1] Non-governmental organizations may also receive funds from this share through collaborative partnerships with a governmental entity that serves as the applicant and fiscal sponsor for the funds.[2]
What can this share be spent on?
In general, and with limited exceptions,[3] this share must be spent on forward-looking abatement uses described in Exhibit A (“Potential Opioid Abatement Approved Purposes”) to Colorado’s Opioid Settlement Memorandum of Understanding.[4] Exhibit A includes treatment, prevention, and additional areas, and provides a subset of the national settlement agreements’ (non-exhaustive) Exhibit E.[5]
This share is also specifically intended to fund capital improvements and operational assistance for the state’s abatement infrastructure, [6] and “is intended to supplement Opioid Settlement Funds requested by any party or region.” [7]
Who ultimately decides how to spend this share (and how)?
Colorado Opioid Abatement Council decides. The Colorado Opioid Abatement Council (COAC) ultimately decides, distributes, and oversees specific expenditures for this share.[8] COAC’s Opioid Funds Infrastructure Share Policy outlines the application and approval processes for this share.
Are supplantation uses prohibited for this share?
Yes, supplantation is prohibited. The Colorado Opioid Abatement Council’s (COAC) Opioid Funds Infrastructure Share Policy states that "Infrastructure Share funds must be used to create and/or increase access to services or programs that fall under the definition of Allowable Uses in Exhibit A of the Colorado Opioid MOU."[9] The Colorado Opioids Settlement MOU provides that “[t]he Statewide Infrastructure Share is intended to supplement Opioid Funds received by any Party or Region,”[10] and the Colorado Opioid Abatement Council’s website adds that these supplemental funds are intended to benefit “areas of greatest need.”[11]
Can I see how this share has been spent?
Yes (public reporting required). Visit the Colorado Opioid Settlement Expenditures Dashboard. Entities receiving funds from the infrastructure share must annually report expenditure information to the Colorado Opioid Abatement Council (COAC), and the COAC is required to publish this information on a dashboard.[12]
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
Opioid Funds Infrastructure Share Policy, Article 2, Sec. I. Colorado Opioid Abatement Council. April 5, 2023. Accessed August 26, 2024. ↑
Colorado Opioid Settlement Memorandum of Understanding, Secs. A.1 (defining “Approved Purposes” to include “reasonable administrative costs associated with overseeing and administrating Opioid Funds” and “attorneys’ fees and expenses incurred in the course of the opioid litigation that are paid through the process discussed below”), G.3(e) (capping administrative costs at the lessor of 10% or actual costs), G.6 (providing that the COAC’s administrative costs for distributing and overseeing the infrastructure share will be paid from the infrastructure share). ↑
Colorado Opioid Settlement Memorandum of Understanding, Secs. B.2(d), B.4, G.3(a); Opioid Funds Infrastructure Share Policy, Article 2, Sec. II. Colorado Opioid Abatement Council. April 5, 2023. Accessed August 26, 2024 (“Infrastructure Share funds must be used to create and/or increase access to services or programs that fall under the definition of Allowable Uses in Exhibit A of the Colorado Opioid MOU”). ↑
See Distributor Settlement Agreement, Sec. I.SS (“Exhibit E provides a non-exhaustive list of expenditures that qualify as being paid for Opioid Remediation. Qualifying expenditures may include reasonable related administrative expenses.”). ↑
Colorado Opioid Settlement Memorandum of Understanding, Sec. G.2. See also Opioid Funds Infrastructure Share Policy. Colorado Opioid Abatement Council. April 5, 2023. Accessed August 26, 2024; State Share and Infrastructure Funds. Colorado Attorney General’s website. Accessed August 26, 2024. ↑
Colorado Opioid Settlement Memorandum of Understanding, Sec. G.2. ↑
Colorado Opioid Settlement Memorandum of Understanding, Secs. C.4, G.3-4; Opioid Funds Infrastructure Share Policy, Article 2, Sec. V. Colorado Opioid Abatement Council. April 5, 2023. Accessed August 26, 2024 (“The COAC will be the decision-making body for Infrastructure Share applications”). See also Colorado Opioid Abatement Council. Colorado Attorney General’s website. Accessed August 26, 2024 (“COAC is specifically responsible for oversight of opioid funds from the regional share and for developing processes and procedures for the statewide infrastructure share”). ↑
Opioid Funds Infrastructure Share Policy, Article 2, Sec. II. Colorado Opioid Abatement Council. April 5, 2023. ↑
Colorado Opioid Settlements MOU, Sec. G(2). ↑
Colorado Opioid Abatement Council. Colorado Attorney General website. Accessed September 1, 2024. ↑
Colorado Opioid Settlement Memorandum of Understanding, Sec. G.5 (“any Party or Regional Council that receives funds from the Statewide Infrastructure Share shall provide all expenditure data, including administrative costs, related to any Opioid Funds it received from the Statewide Infrastructure Share and subject itself to an accounting as required by the Abatement Council. … The Abatement Council may require the Parties or Regional Councils that receive funds from the Statewide Infrastructure Share to provide additional outcome related data in accordance with Section (C)(4)(c)(ii)”). The Colorado Opioid Abatement Council is also required to “develop a centralized dashboard or other repository for the publication of expenditure data from any Party or Regional Council that receives Opioid Funds” (i.e., the Colorado Opioid Settlement Expenditures Dashboard). Colorado Opioid Settlement Memorandum of Understanding, Sec. C.4.c(i). See also Expenditure Data Reporting Policy. Colorado Opioid Abatement Council. June 7, 2023. Accessed August 26, 2024. ↑
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