Advisory Bodies

Has the state established an advisory body for settlement funds?

No. Mississippi has not established an advisory body to inform opioid settlement spending.

Is the state advisory body required to include member(s) with lived and/or living experience?

Not applicable.

What is the overall membership of the state advisory body?

Not applicable.

Are local governments required to establish a settlement advisory body? If so, are local advisory bodies required to include member(s) with lived and/or living experience?

No (up to each locality). Local governments in Mississippi are not required to establish opioid settlement advisory bodies. However, localities may independently choose to establish advisory councils that include members with lived and/or living experience to help ensure that settlement spending reflects community priorities.

What else should I know?

In July 2024, Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch referred to a “two-prong proposal” to allocate this 70% abatement share differently.[1] As proposed by the AG, only half of this 70% abatement share would be directed to CAM as per the MOU, and the other half “would become an annual grant program through which a committee established by the Legislature would distribute funds to [abatement] projects.”[2] Both advocates and leaders within the state await finalization of Mississippi’s opioid settlement spending scheme, including the creation of any advisory committees.[3]

Citations

1. “[W]e created a two-prong proposal to meet the abatement requirements in these settlements.” Lynn Fitch. Demanding Accountability for the Opioid Crisis. Daily Journal. July 13, 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024. ↑

2. “Ensuring Mississippi got its full funding due was our top priority, so we proposed that the Legislature divide the abatement funds from these eight settlements roughly in half. The first half of the funds would go to the University of Mississippi Medical Center to create and run the Center for Addiction Medicine – a project that clearly checks the boxes for these settlements. The other half would become an annual grant program through which a committee established by the Legislature would distribute funds to projects that also meet the abatement requirements around the State.” Lynn Fitch. Demanding Accountability for the Opioid Crisis. Daily Journal. July 13, 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024. ↑

3. See “What else should I know?” (below) for more. See also Violet Jira and Henry Larweh. Opioid Settlements Promise Mississippi a Windfall. What Happens Next?. KFF Health News and Mississippi Today. August 14, 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024 ("According to Leah Smith, deputy chief of staff for Lt. Gov. Delbert Hosemann, his office intends to meet with Mississippi state leaders and advocates ‘to establish a plan to be adopted by the Legislature when it next meets in January,’ although the timeline is uncertain”). ↑