20% Sheriffs' Share
Where do these monies live?
This share is distributed to the sheriffs of Louisiana’s 64 parishes.[1]
What can this share be spent on?
Louisiana’s opioid settlement Memorandum of Understanding does not require the sheriff’s 20% share of funds to be spent on Approved Purposes.[2] However, at least a portion of monies in this share must inevitably be spent on abatement uses (as illustrated by the national settlement agreements’ non-exhaustive Exhibit E, which includes prevention, harm reduction, treatment, recovery, and other strategies) for the state to meet its minimum opioid remediation spending requirements under the different agreements.[3]
Who ultimately decides how to spend this share (and how)?
Sheriffs decide autonomously. Each of the sheriffs for the 64 Louisiana parishes will presumably decide their own specific expenditures themselves, given that Louisiana’s opioid settlement Memorandum of Understanding contains no restrictions on how the funds are spent.[4] Additionally, although the Louisiana Opioid Abatement Task Force is required to reserve one of its five seats for a Louisiana Sheriff’s Association appointee,[5] the Task Force is not specifically required to oversee this share.[6]
Are supplantation uses prohibited for this share?
No, supplantation is not prohibited. Like most states, Louisiana does not explicitly prohibit supplantation uses of its opioid settlement funds. This means that the 20% Sheriffs’ Share may be spent in ways that replace (or “supplant”) — rather than supplement — existing resources.
Can I see how this share has been spent?
No (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
See, e.g., Louisiana State-Local Government Opioid Litigation Memorandum of Understanding, Secs. C.1(d)-(e) (requiring “Qualified Parishes” and “all other Parishes” spend their shares on Approved Purposes” but no comparable language applicable to sheriffs), A.12 (specifically defining “Parish” to mean “one of the 64 parish governments”), A.13 (defining “Sheriff” separately to mean “the sheriff in each of the 64 parishes”). ↑
See, e.g., Distributor Settlement Agreement, Sec. V(B)(1) (minimum 85% opioid remediation spending); CVS Settlement Agreement, Sec. V(B)(1) (minimum 95.5% opioid remediation spending); Walgreens Settlement Agreement, Sec. V(B)(1) (minimum 95% opioid remediation spending); Walmart Settlement Agreement, Sec. V(B)(1) (minimum 85% opioid remediation spending). ↑
See, e.g., Louisiana State-Local Government Opioid Litigation Memorandum of Understanding, Secs. C.1(d)-(e) (requiring “Qualified Parishes” and “all other Parishes” spend their shares on Approved Purposes” but no comparable language applicable to sheriffs), A.12 (specifically defining “Parish” to mean “one of the 64 parish governments”), A.13 (defining “Sheriff” separately to mean “the sheriff in each of the 64 parishes”). ↑
Louisiana State-Local Government Opioid Litigation Memorandum of Understanding, Sec. B.2(c). ↑
Louisiana State-Local Government Opioid Litigation Memorandum of Understanding, Secs. B.7-8 (describing Task Force’s reporting oversight powers as to parishes only and advising powers as to “the Attorney General and the Parishes and Municipalities" only). See also Louisiana State-Local Government Opioid Litigation Memorandum of Understanding, Secs. A.12-13 (specifically defining “Parish” to mean “one of the 64 parish governments,” and “Sheriff” as “the sheriff in each of the 64 parishes”). ↑
Last updated
