50% Local Share
Where do these monies live?
Kentucky's local government share is distributed to its “counties, consolidated local governments, urban-county governments, and cities.”[1] Funds are distributed according to a pre-determined formula.[2] The Kentucky Association of Counties (KACo) recommends that local governments keep these monies in a separate special account/fund.
What can this share be spent on?
With limited exceptions,[3] each local government receiving funds from this share must spend at least 85% of the funds on the uses described in state law, KRS 15.291(5).[4] This state law outlines:
28 categories of permissible forward-looking abatement projects.[5] These categories vary widely and include, for example, projects to provide access to opioid-abatement-related housing (e.g., supportive housing) and “evidence-informed treatment, recovery support, harm reduction, or other appropriate services to individuals with OUD and co-occurring SUD/MH issues” who are justice-involved.
3 categories of permissible reimbursement expenses: outpatient and residential treatment services, emergency response, and naloxone administration.[6]
Funds may also be used for "[a]ny other project deemed appropriate for opioid-abatement purposes by the [Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission].”[7]
Who ultimately decides how to spend this share (and how)?
Local governments decide autonomously (but must certify proper uses). Though decision-makers for the counties, consolidated local governments, urban-county governments, and cities decide for themselves how to spend their share,[8] they must also certify quarterly to the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission (KYOAAC) that funds were used according to KRS 15.291(5).[9]
Example: The Louisville Metro Department of Public Health and Wellness (LMPHW) determined priorities for funding, and the Louisville Metro Opioid Settlement Advisory Board reviewed funding proposals.[10] Its recommendations were jointly announced with the Mayor’s office and provided to the Louisville Metro Council,[11] who ultimately approved specific expenditures.[12]
Are supplantation uses prohibited for this share?
No, supplantation is not prohibited. Like most states, Kentucky does not explicitly prohibit supplantation uses of its opioid settlement funds. This means that counties, cities, and towns may spend their 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 (neither public nor intrastate reporting required). The Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission currently requires that local governments provide a “yes or no” certification that funds were spent according to approved uses, not to report specific expenditures,[13] and there are no centralized source(s) to view local expenditures.
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
Ky. Rev. Stat. Secs. 15.293(4)(a) (“The [opioid abatement trust] fund shall not consist of the remaining fifty percent (50%) of all proceeds received by the Commonwealth, counties, consolidated local governments, urban-county governments, and cities of the Commonwealth”), (4)(b) (“To the extent that the negotiation class distribution metrics would result in a city receiving a total of less than $30,000 in any individual settlement, judgment, or bankruptcy proceeding, the payment is instead made to the county, consolidated local government, or urban-county government in which that city is located”). ↑
Ky. Rev. Stat. Sec. 15.293(4)(b) (“paid to counties, consolidated local governments, urban-county governments, and cities of the Commonwealth in accordance with the negotiation class distribution metrics established in In re National Prescription Opiate Litigation, MDL No. 2804, Case No. 1:17-md-02804, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio”). This formula is based on factors such as population, amount of prescription opioid sales, number of people with pain reliever use disorder, and number of overdose deaths. ↑
See Ky. Rev. Stat. Secs. 15.295 (addressing local government feed fund). ↑
Ky. Rev. Stat. Secs. 14.293(4)(c)(2)(a), 15.295(4) (“No less than eighty-five percent (85%) of the proceeds received by each county, consolidated local government, urban-county government, or city of the Commonwealth shall go toward abatement of the opioid epidemic in those communities”). ↑
Ky. Rev. Stat. Sec. 15.291(5)(b). ↑
Ky. Rev. Stat. Sec. 15.291(5)(a). ↑
Ky. Rev. Stat. Sec. 15.291(5)(b)(29). State law also allows settlement funds to be used for any project that “[m]eets the criteria included in any settlement agreement or judgment between the parties listed in KRS 15.293(3)(a).” Ky. Rev. Stat. Sec. 15.291(b)(28). This means that funds from both the Commonwealth Share and Local Share may be spent for any purpose consistent with “Exhibit E” of the settlement agreements. ↑
Ky. Rev. Stat. Secs. 15.293(4)(b), (4)(c)(2). ↑
40 Ky. Admin. Regs. 9:020, Sec. 2. Failure to submit the required certifications or other noncompliance may result in a local government being required to reimburse the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission and/or have future funding withheld. Ky. Rev. Stat. Sec. 15.293(4)(c)(2)(d); 40 Ky. Admin. Regs. 9:020, Sec. 3(2). However, the basis for reimbursement is unclear since funds in this share are distributed directly to local governments and not otherwise controlled by KYOAAC. Additionally, Ky. Rev. Stat. Sec. 15.293(4)(c)(2)(a) describes an annual certification requirement for “[e]ach county, consolidated local government, urban-county government, or city of the Commonwealth that receives any proceeds,” but subsequent materials, including 40 Ky. Admin. Regs. 9:020, establish a quarterly requirement. See also Jennifer Burnett. Opioid Settlement – certification forms due Mar. 31, 2024. Kentucky Association of Counties website. March 4, 2024. Accessed August 21, 2024 (describing quarterly certification due dates: March 31, June 30, September 30, December 31”). ↑
Louisville Opioid Settlement 2024. Louisville Department of Public Health and Wellness. May 2024. Accessed August 21, 2024. ↑
See Mayor Greenberg provides weekly Louisville update. Louisville, KY website. April 16, 2024. Accessed August 21, 2024 (describing recommendations for second round of funding). See also Louisville Metro Government, Ordinance No. 105, Series 2023 (describing expenditures approved for first round of funding). ↑
Mayor Greenberg provides weekly Louisville update. Louisville, KY website. April 16, 2024. Accessed August 21, 2024 (“These expenditures must be approved by Metro Council before funds can be awarded”). ↑
This is despite a statutory mandate that local governments annually submit “a list of fund recipients and amounts” and “a description of the use of the funds.” Ky. Rev. Stat. Sec. 15.293(4)(c)(2)(a). ↑
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