Montana’s Opioid Settlements

This Community Guide will describe how Montana is spending its opioid settlements, and whether Montana is working to ensure community access to opioid settlement funds. Last revised September 1, 2024.

Total Funds

$83.97 million[1]

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[1] Total is rounded. See The Official Opioid Settlement Tracker Tally. Accessed September 1, 2024.

Allocation

70% to the Montana Opioid Abatement Trust, 15% to the state, and 15% to local governments

Mechanism

State-Local Agreement (Montana Distributors’ and Janssen Opioids Settlement Memorandum of Understanding and its subsequent amendments: Amendment I & Amendment II); Other Agreements (Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services/Montana Department of Justice Memorandum of Understanding: Allocation and Use of Opioid Settlement Funds)

	70% Montana Opioid Abatement Trust Share	15% State Share	15% Local Share
Ultimate Decisionmaker	Abatement Regions and local governments (for 80% of this share, or 56% of MT’s total funds) and Montana Opioid Abatement Trust Advisory Committee (for 20% of this share, or 14% of MT’s total funds)	Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services and Montana Department of Justice	Local officials for cities and counties
Decision-making Process	Abatement Regions and local governments decide 80% of this share and submit proposals to the Montana Opioid Abatement Trust’s Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee must distribute funds if proposed for approved purposes. The Advisory Committee decides how to spend the remaining 20% of this share on statewide programs, innovation, research, and education.	Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services and Montana Department of Justice decide. The two agencies must share information with one another and are encouraged to coordinate.	Localities decide autonomously
Supplantation	Discouraged but not prohibited	Discouraged but not prohibited	Discouraged but not prohibited
Grant Funding	Yes. See the Montana Opioid Abatement Trust’s grant portal.	No	Up to each locality (availability and processes will vary)
Public Input	80% Abatement Regions sub-share: Up to each locality (not required) 20% Advisory Committee sub-share: No opportunities available (not required)	No opportunities available (not required)	Generally, yes (public comments at public meetings required)
Advisory Body	Yes (required). See the Montana Opioid Abatement Trust's Advisory Committee. The Advisory Committee is not required to include member(s) with lived and/or living experience.	No (not required)	Up to each locality (not required)
Expenditures	Neither public nor intrastate reporting required	No public reporting required (only intrastate)	Neither public nor intrastate reporting required
Updates	For updates on the Montana Opioid Abatement Trust share, visit the Trust’s website, which includes information about the Advisory Committee’s past and upcoming meetings and provides contact information for Abatement Regions. You can also check out the Montana Association of Counties’ opioid settlement website, which describes Abatement Regions’ governance structure processes, and the websites for the individual Abatement Regions’ governing structures. See, e.g., Lewis & Clark Metro Region Opioid Governance Committee.	A single resource containing updates specific to the state share could not be found.	For updates on the local share, visit the Montana Association of Counties’ opioid settlement website. Another good starting point is to check the websites for your city council, board of county commissioners, or local health department.