Where do these monies live?

Seventy-five percent (75%) of the state’s opioid settlement funds are held in the Kansas Fights Addiction (KFA) Fund,[1] which is administered by the Sunflower Foundation.[2]

What can this share be spent on?

Excepting administrative expenses,[3] and less $200,000 annually for the state’s prescription drug monitoring program,[4] monies in the KFA Fund must be spent on “projects and activities that prevent, reduce, treat or mitigate the effects of substance abuse and addiction.”[5]

Who ultimately decides how to spend this share (and how)?

Kansas Fights Addiction Grant Review Board decides (but must consult state departments). Monies in the KFA Fund must be spent as grants approved by the Kansas Fights Addiction Act Grant Review Board (KFA Grant Review Board).[6] The KFA Grant Review Board ultimately decides for themselves which specific awards to approve from this share but must consult the Kansas Prescription Drug and Opioid Advisory Committee, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, the Kansas Insurance Department, and “other appropriate public and private entities” when making its decisions.[7]

These monies are granted to state agencies, local governments, non-profit organizations, and for-profit entities for abatement projects and activities, who receive the state’s settlement funds by applying for funding through the KFA Grant Review Board.[8]

The Sunflower Foundation, retained by the state Attorney General to help the KFA Grant Review Board carry out its duties,[9] administers the grant program.[10] When awarding grants, the KFA Grant Review Board must ensure that at least 1/8 of KFA Funds granted annually go to services in each of the state’s four congressional districts and consider the sustainability of grant programming after funds are exhausted.[11]

Are supplantation uses prohibited for this share?

Yes, supplantation is prohibited. State law requires the Kansas Fights Addiction (KFA) Fund to be spent as grants and explicitly states that grant expenditures “shall not be used to supplant any other source of funding.”12 This means that the 50% KFA Fund share may only be spent in ways that supplement — rather than replace (or “supplant’) — existing resources.

Can I see how this share has been spent?

Yes (public reporting not required, only intrastate). You can find detailed information on KFA Grant Review Board’s Board Materials page (e.g., “Public Info on All Awarded KFA Grants”). The KFA Grant Review Board is also required to submit an annual report on its activities to state legislative leaders, the governor, and state attorney general,[12] but there is no requirement that the KFA Grant Review Board affirmatively make this report publicly available.[13]

Visit OpioidSettlementTracker.com’s Expenditure Report Tracker for an updated collection of states’ and localities’ available expenditure reports.

What else should I know?

In early 2024, the Kansas state legislature passed a budget bill that sought to allocate the state’s share of settlement funds outside the established process for the distribution of such funds by the KFA Grant Review Board.[14] An April 2024 letter from the Kansas Fights Addiction Board noted that “the legislative actions risk the state’s ability to maximize settlement funding recover for Kansas” and that “investing settlement dollars outside of a coordinated and evaluated strategy … weakens the state’s ability to leverage settlement dollars, fuel innovation and modernize the state’s substance use disorder system.”[15] Kansas Governor Laura Kelly successfully vetoed the legislature’s proposed direct allocations of state settlement funds using language that mirrored the KFA Grant Review Board’s April 2024 letter.[16]

Citations

1. Kan. Stat. Ann. Sec. 75-777(a) (“the attorney general shall remit to the state treasurer … all moneys that are received by the state pursuant to opioid litigation,” “[T]he state treasurer shall deposit the entire amount into the state treasury,” then “credit 75% of each such deposit to the Kansas fights addiction fund”). See also Kansas Opioids Memorandum of Understanding Between the Attorney General, the League of Kansas Municipalities, and the Kansas Association of Counties, Sec. C.1 (describing statewide allocation). ↑

2. Kan. Stat. Ann. Secs. 75-777(b) (“There is hereby established in the state treasury the Kansas fights addiction fund, and such fund shall be administered by the attorney general”), 75-778(d)(1) (“The attorney general shall provide administrative support for the board and shall administer, monitor and assure compliance with conditions on grants awarded”), 75-778(d)(2) (“To carry out the duties and responsibilities under paragraph (1), the attorney general may enter into an agreement with the sunflower foundation to provide such administration, monitoring and assurance of compliance”). ↑

3. Kansas Opioids Memorandum of Understanding Between the Attorney General, the League of Kansas Municipalities, and the Kansas Association of Counties, Sec. E.4 (“Expenses for the administration of the distribution of settlement funds, pursuant to the Settlement Funds Distribution Procedure, shall be shared proportionally among the Parties”). See also Kan. Stat. Ann. Sec. 75-777(b) (“No moneys shall be expended from the Kansas fights addiction fund for the payment of litigation costs, expenses or attorney fees related to opioid litigation”). ↑

4. Kan. Stat. Ann. Sec. 75-777(c). ↑

5. Kan. Stat. Ann. Sec. 75-777(b) (“moneys in the Kansas fights addiction fund shall be expended … for grants approved by the Kansas fights addiction grant review board created by [Sec.] 75-778, and amendments thereto, to qualified applicants for projects and activities that prevent, reduce, treat or mitigate the effects of substance abuse and addiction”). See also Kansas Opioids Memorandum of Understanding Between the Attorney General, the League of Kansas Municipalities, and the Kansas Association of Counties, Secs. D.1 (“Regardless of allocation, all Settlement Funds shall be used in a manner consistent with the Approved Purposes”), A.1 (defining “Approved Purpose(s)” to mean “projects and activities, including, but not limited to law enforcement, that prevent, reduce, treat, or mitigate the effects of substance abuse and addiction or to reimburse the State or Political Subdivisions for previous expenses related to substance abuse mitigation or arising from covered conduct”). Kansas’ official opioid settlement documents do not refer to the national settlement agreements’ (non-exhaustive) Exhibit E, which includes prevention, harm reduction, treatment, recovery, and other strategies. See 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”). ↑

6. Kan. Stat. Ann. Secs. 75-777(b) (“moneys in the Kansas fights addiction fund shall be expended … for grants approved by the Kansas fights addiction grant review board created by K.S.A. 2023 Supp. 75-778, and amendments thereto”), 75-778(a) (“There is hereby created under the jurisdiction of the attorney general the Kansas fights addiction grant review board”). The Board is empowered to create its own operating procedures. Kan. Stat. Ann. Sec. 75-778(b). ↑

7. Kan. Stat. Ann. Sec. 75-778(c)(3) (“shall consult with the Kansas prescription drug and opioid advisory committee, the department of health and environment, the insurance department and other appropriate public and private entities to ensure coordination of drug abuse and addiction prevention and mitigation efforts throughout the state”). “Other appropriate public and private entities” includes, for example, the Kansas Department of Aging and Disability Service. See Annual Report for January 1, 2022 – December 31, 2022. Kansas Fights Addiction Grant Review Board. March 1, 2023. Accessed August 12, 2024. ↑

8. Kan. Stat. Ann. Secs. 75-778(b) (requiring board to “receive and consider applications”), 75-777(b) (“for grants … to qualified applicants for projects and activities that prevent, reduce, treat or mitigate the effects of substance abuse and addiction”), 75-776 (defining “qualified applicant” to mean “any state entity, municipality, not-for-profit private entity or for-profit private entity that provides services for the purpose of preventing, reducing, treating or otherwise abating or remediating substance abuse or addiction and that has released its legal claims arising from covered conduct against each defendant that is required by opioid litigation to pay into the fund”). See also Kansas Fights Addiction Act Grant Review Board. Kansas Attorney General website. Accessed August 12, 2024 (“To be eligible, [local government] applicants also must release all legal claims arising from covered conduct against each defendant named in the opioid settlement agreements”). But see KFA Grant Program Frequently Asked Questions. Sunflower Foundation website. Accessed August 12, 2024 (“Are for-profit entities eligible to apply for this RFP? No, not at this time. We recognize that legislation was recently passed adding for-profit entities to the definition of eligible entities under the Kansas Fights Addiction Act. However, the board is in the process of establishing appropriate procedures and processes to fund for-profit entities as these processes are not the same as those for non-profits and units of government”). ↑

9. Kan. Stat. Ann. Secs. 75-777(b), 75-778(d)(1), 775-778(d)(2). ↑

10. Kan. Stat. Ann. Sec. 75-778(d)(2)(A) (“The sunflower administration shall administer any such moneys in a manner consistent with this act and with grants approved by the board”). ↑

11. Kan. Stat. Ann. Secs. 75-778(c)(1), (5). The Board may also give preference to grants that expand the availability of certified drug treatment programs for court-ordered treatment for individuals charged with certain controlled substance offenses. Kas. Stat. Ann. Sec. 75-778(c)(8). ↑

12. Kan. Stat. Ann. Sec. 75-781 (“Not later than March 1 of each year, the Kansas fights addiction grant review board shall submit to the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, the governor and the attorney general a report of the board’s activities during the prior calendar year, including: (a) An accounting of moneys deposited into and expended from the Kansas fights addiction fund; (b) a summary of each approved grant, including the name and a detailed description of the qualified applicant, the amount granted, the justification for the grant with a detailed description of the grant’s intended use and any other relevant information the board deems appropriate; (c) an explanation of how the board’s actions during the year have complied with the requirements of this act; and (d) any other relevant information the board deems appropriate”). ↑

13. These reports are, however, public records that may be requested. Statement based on an August 2024 email exchange among the Kansas Attorney General’s Office, Vital Strategies, and OpioidSettlementTracker.com. ↑

14. See, e.g., 2023-2024 Kansas Senate Bill 28, Secs. 32(b), 83(b). ↑

15. April 19, 2024 letter from the Kansas Fights Addiction Grant Review Board to unnamed recipient. Accessed August 12, 2024. The letter also explained that the legislature’s attempt to circumvent the KFA Grant Review Board’s process “sets a precedent that will be nearly impossible to manage” and “create an unfair advantage for organizations seeking settlement dollars, requiring organizations to choose between following the processes set up through the KFA board or requesting funds directly from their legislator.” Id. ↑

16. Message from the Governor Regarding Veto of Senate Bill 28. Governor Laura Kelly. April 24, 2024 (“The Legislature created the Kansas Fights Addiction Board to review and approve applications for funding through the State’s opioid settlement, the Kansas Fights Addiction Fund. While these initiatives maybe good proposals worthy of funding, direct allocation of these funds circumvents the established process and gives an unfair advantage to the organizations receiving these funds. It also makes it difficult for the Board to administer its established strategy and strategic plan for the settlement. If the Legislature wants to change the process through which these funds are allocated, it should pass standalone legislation to do so”). ↑

Here are the entities that ultimately decide how each of Kansas’s opioid settlement shares are spent:

• 75% Kansas Fights Addiction Fund share:

• 25% Municipalities Fight Addiction Fund share: decisionmakers for cities and counties

Where do these monies live?

Twenty-five percent (25%) of Kansas’ opioid settlement funds are held in the Municipalities Fight Addiction Fund (“MFA Fund”),[1] which is administered by the state Attorney General and distributed per capita to local governments.[2] This share is split evenly between Kansas’ cities and counties.[3]

• 12.5% of Kansas’ opioid settlement funds is directly allocated to Kansas’ cities, with litigating cities that have released their claims receiving a 25% increase in their share.[4] Non-litigating cities are eligible to receive funds only if they passed a resolution prior to February 18, 2022 stating that they can spend their funds for approved purposes.[5]

• 12.5% of Kansas’ opioid settlement funds is directly allocated to Kansas’ counties, with one half (6.25%) allocated among all counties,[6] and the other half (6.25%) allocated among litigating counties that have released their claims.[7] Non-litigating counties are eligible to receive funds only if they passed a resolution prior to February 18, 2022 stating that they can spend their funds for approved purposes.[8]

Cities and counties may pool their funds or allocate them to the KFA Fund,[9] and each are required to set up separate funds to hold their opioid settlement proceeds separate from other local monies.[10]

What can this share be spent on?

Excepting attorneys’ fees and administrative expenses,[11] localities must use monies from the MFA Fund “in a manner consistent with the approved purposes,” which the state defines as “projects and activities that prevent, reduce, treat or mitigate the effects of substance abuse and addiction.”[12] Localities may use these funds for reimbursement purposes.[13]

Who ultimately decides how to spend this share (and how)?

Localities decide autonomously. Decisionmakers for the counties and municipalities will ultimately decide for themselves how to spend their monies on approved purposes,[14] including as sub-grants to local organizations and service providers,[15] subject to their normal budgeting processes.[16]

Are supplantation uses prohibited for this share?

No, supplantation is not prohibited. Kansas does not explicitly prohibit supplantation uses of opioid settlement funds from its Municipalities Fight Addiction Fund (MFA) share. This means that local governments may use their MFA Fund shares in ways that replace (or “supplant”) — rather than supplement — existing resources.

Can I see how this share has been spent?

Up to each locality (no public reporting required, only intrastate). Localities are required to report expenditures to the state.[17] Though the state does not currently publish these reports online, the Kansas Office of Attorney General has confirmed that the reports are subject to public records requests and that the state is working to increase the accessibility of its settlement expenditure data.[18]

Visit OpioidSettlementTracker.com’s for an updated collection of states’ and localities’ available expenditure reports.

What else should I know?

Not applicable.

Citations

18. Based on an August 2024 email exchange between the Kansas Attorney General’s Office, Vital Strategies, and OpioidSettlementTracker.com. ↑