25% Local Share
Where do these monies live?
This share is distributed to Georgia’s local governments:[1]
For certain counties, at least 9.45% of their funds is allocated to the county’s sheriff.[2]
For certain counties, at least 2% of their funds is allocated to the county’s public hospital(s).[3]
For certain counties, at least 1% of their funds is allocated to the county’s school district.[4]
What can this share be spent on?
Excepting a 15% set-aside for attorneys’ fees,[5] this share must be spent on the uses described in the national settlement agreement’s (non-exhaustive) Exhibit E, which includes prevention, harm reduction, treatment, recovery, and other strategies.[6]
Georgia’s MOU requires at least 70% of the state’s opioid settlement funds overall to be spent on prospective abatement purposes but does not assign specific abatement thresholds to each share.[7]
Who ultimately decides how to spend this share (and how)?
Localities decide autonomously (with regional advisory council guidance). Decisionmakers for the counties and municipalities will ultimately decide for themselves how to spend their monies on Exhibit E uses.[8] For example, Cobb County established an Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission to recommend strategies to the county’s board of commissioners.[9]
The local governments of the six regions of the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities are required to create regional advisory councils, who are each responsible for consulting local governments and the Advisory Commission on best uses of funds within the region.[10]
Are supplantation uses prohibited for this share?
No, supplantation is not prohibited. Like most states, Georgia does not explicitly prohibit supplantation uses of its opioid settlement funds. This means that the 25% local government share may be spent in ways that replace (or “supplant”) — rather than supplement — existing resources.
Can I see how this share has been spent?
Up to each locality (neither public nor intrastate reporting required). Opioid settlement expenditures are not officially published in a centralized location for this share.
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
State of Georgia and Local Governments: Memorandum of Understanding Concerning National Distributor and Johnson & Johnson Opioid Settlements (“Georgia Distributor and J&J MOU”), Sec. III.a; State of Georgia and Local Governments: Memorandum of Understanding Concerning National Settlements with Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., Allergan Finance, LLC, Walmart Inc., CVS Health Corporation and CVS Pharmacy, Inc., and Walgreen Co. (“Georgia Subsequent Settlement MOU”), Sec. II.a. ↑
Georgia Distributor and J&J MOU, Sec. III.a(i) (“If a county who is a Participating Local Government under this Memorandum has a sheriff who is a Litigating Subdivision listed in Exhibit C of the National Distributor Settlement”); Georgia Subsequent Settlement MOU, Sec. II.a(i) (substantively the same). ↑
Georgia Distributor and J&J MOU, Sec. III.a(iii) (“If a county who is a Participating Local Government under this Memorandum has a school district which is a Litigating Subdivision listed in Exhibit C”); Georgia Subsequent Settlement MOU, Sec. II.a(iii) (substantively the same). ↑
Georgia Distributor and J&J MOU, Sec. VII.c (setting aside 15% of local governments’ 25% share to fund the Local Government Cost and Fee Fund (attorneys’ fees)); Georgia Subsequent Settlement MOU, Sec. VI.a. See also Georgia Distributor and J&J MOU, Sec. IV.a (summarizing exceptions); Georgia Subsequent Settlement MOU, Sec. III.a (summarizing exceptions); 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”). ↑
Georgia Distributor and J&J MOU, Secs. I.a, IV.a; Georgia Subsequent Settlement MOU, Sec. III.a. See also 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”). ↑
Resolution No. 21702. Cobb County Board of Commissioners. April 23, 2024. Accessed August 26, 2024. See also Larry Felton Johnson. Cobb’s Opioid Abatement Advisory Council held its first meeting. Cobb Courier. June 16, 2024. Accessed August 26, 2024. ↑
Georgia Distributor and J&J MOU, Secs. III.c(v)-(vi); Georgia Subsequent Settlement MOU, Sec. II.c(iv). See also Regional Advisory Councils (RACs). Georgia Opioid Crisis Abatement Trust website. Accessed August 26, 2024. ↑
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