50% State Share
Where do these monies live?
Fifty percent (50%) of Indiana’s opioid settlement monies belong to the state and are held in two separate accounts of the state’s opioid settlement fund:[1]
The state abatement opioid settlement account holds 35%.[2]
The state unrestricted opioid settlement account holds 15%.[3]
What can this share be spent on?
The state must spend the 35% of funds in its abatement opioid settlement account on the approved abatement uses described in the national settlement agreements’ (non-exhaustive) Exhibit E,[4] which includes prevention, harm reduction, treatment, recovery, and other strategies.
The remaining 15% of funds from the state’s unrestricted opioid settlement account set aside “for the benefit of the state.”[5] These monies will be used to administer the state opioid settlement fund and to oversee and administer abatement programs.[6] Monies from this account also may be used for attorneys’ fees.[7]
Who ultimately decides how to spend this share (and how)?
For 35% of funds, Indiana Family and Social Services Administration and State Budget Committee; for 15%, Indiana General Assembly.
Funds from the state’s 35% abatement opioid settlement account are continuously appropriated to the Family and Social Services Administration (FSSA),[8] which works with other state departments to decide specific Exhibit E uses.[9] The FSSA then must submit its plan to the State Budget Committee, which must approve the plan before funds are distributed.[10]
Funds from the state’s 15% unrestricted opioid settlement account are appropriated by the Indiana General Assembly for the uses described above.[11]
Are supplantation uses prohibited for this share?
No, supplantation is not prohibited. Like most states, Indiana does not explicitly prohibit supplantation uses of its opioid settlement funds. This means that the 50% state share may be spent in ways that replace (or “supplant”) — rather than supplement — existing resources.
Can I see how this share has been spent?
Yes (public reporting required). View Next Level Recovery’s Opioid Settlements website for approved appropriations plan for the 35% abatement opioid settlement account (e.g., state’s 2022-24 spending plan) and annual reports (e.g., Fall 2023). The Office of the Secretary of Family and Social Services is required to compile and submit an annual report on the use of opioid settlement funds,[12] and this report must be published online.[13]
Visit OpioidSettlementTracker.com’s Expenditure Report Tracker for an updated collection of states’ and localities’ available expenditure reports.
What else should I know?
The FSSA’s Division of Mental Health and Addiction (DMHA), in partnership with the governor’s office, created a match grant program to award part of this share to local governments, service providers, and community-based organizations.[14] Local governments were required to provide matching funds.[15]
Citations
Ind. Code Ann. Secs. 4-6-15-4(a)(1), 4-6-15-4(a)(3), 4-12-16.2-2 (establishing the “state opioid settlement fund”), 4-12-16.2-5 (establishing the “state unrestricted opioid settlement account” and the “state abatement opioid settlement account” and specify their contents). ↑
Ind. Code Ann. Sec. 4-6-15-4(a)(3). ↑
Ind. Code Ann. Sec. 4-6-15-4(a)(1). ↑
Ind. Code Ann. Secs. 4-6-15-4(a)(3) (“Thirty-five percent (35%) … for statewide treatment, education, and prevention programs for opioid use disorder and any co-occurring substance use disorder or mental health issues as defined … by the settlement documents or court order”), 4-12-16.2-5(2) (same). See also Opioid Settlement. Next Level Recovery Indiana website. Accessed August 13, 2024 (identifying and linking to Exhibit E as list of “approved abatement uses”); Distributor Settlement Agreement 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”). ↑
Ind. Code Ann. Sec. 4-6-15-4(a)(1). Monies in the state’s “unrestricted” account are not truly unrestricted. See Ind. Code Ann. Secs. 4-6-15-4(b) (attorneys’ fees), 4-6-15-4(g) (if additional monies are needed to satisfy minimum remediation spending requirements), 4-12-16.2-5(1) (oversight and administration of programs), 4-12-16.2-6 (Fund administrative expenses) ↑
Ind. Code Ann. Secs. 4-12-16.2-6 (“expenses of administering the fund”), 4-12-16.2-5(1) (“must be used by the state for oversight and administration of programs for treatment, education, recovery, and prevention of opioid use disorder and any co-occurring substance use disorders or mental health issues”). ↑
Ind. Code Ann. Sec. 4-6-15-4(b) (“Any attorney's fees or costs required to be paid by the state, including any amount in a settlement designated for payment of state attorney's fees or costs, shall be deducted from the [state unrestricted opioid settlement account]”). ↑
Ind. Code Ann. Sec. 4-12-16.2-5(1),(2) (“Money in the [state abatement opioid settlement] account is continuously appropriated to the office of the secretary of family and social services for treatment, education, recovery, and prevention programs for opioid use disorder and any co-occurring substance use disorder or mental health issues”). ↑
See Opioid Settlement. Next Level Recovery Indiana website. Accessed August 13, 2024 (“The Office of Drug Prevention, Treatment, and Enforcement, in partnership with the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration - Division of Mental Health and Addiction and the Indiana Department of Health, has developed a framework for how the State of Indiana plans to use the state’s 35% appropriation for abatement”). ↑
Ind. Code Ann. Sec. 4-12-16.2-5(2). See, e.g., Annual Opioid Settlement Report – Fall 2023. Indiana Family and Social Services Administration. Accessed August 13, 2024 (“The State Budget Committee approved this plan, as required by IC 4-12-16.2-5(2), at the December 15, 2022, meeting. During the reporting period of August 1, 2022, to July 31, 2023, FSSA expended $18,939,819.15 total”). ↑
Ind. Code Ann. Sec. 4-12-16.2-5(1) (“Expenditures from the account may be made only after appropriation of the money in the account by the general assembly”). ↑
Ind. Code Ann. Secs. 4-6-15-4(e) (“All entities receiving opioid settlement funds shall monitor the use of those funds and provide an annual report to the office of the secretary of family and social services not later than a date determined by the office of the secretary of family and social services”), (f) (“The office of the secretary of family and social services shall compile and submit an annual comprehensive report of the information received under subsection (e) to the general assembly in an electronic format under IC 5-14-6 not later than October 1 of each year identifying all funds committed and used as specified by any settlement documents or court order”). ↑
Ind. Code Ann. Sec. 5-14-6-4(b)(1) (requiring agency that submits reports to the general assembly to post such reports on the internet). ↑
State announces more than $76 million in new funding for crisis response and substance use disorder services. Indiana Family & Social Services Administration press release. June 13, 2023. Accessed August 13, 2024. ↑
Opioid Settlement. Next Level Recovery Indiana website. Accessed August 13, 2024. ↑
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