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

• 85% Opioid Recovery Trust Fund share: Department of Health and Human Services Division of Behavioral Health (DBH) and regions decide majority (Opioid Settlement Remediation Advisory Committee advises DBH)

  • Opioid Treatment and Infrastructure Cash Fund (contains most): Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Behavioral Health (within parameters established by the Nebraska state legislature and state law)

  • Opioid Prevention and Treatment Cash Fund: Regional Behavioral Health Authorities (RBHAs) (within general parameters established by state law)

  • Training Division Cash Fund: State Fire Marshall (within general parameters established by state law)

  • Health and Human Services Cash Fund: staff from the Department of Health and Human Services (to implement the Overdose Fatality Review Teams Act)

• 15% local share: local officials for counties and municipalities

Where do these monies live?

This share is distributed directly to the state’s 93 counties and 16 municipalities and is not held in the Nebraska Opioid Recovery Fund.[1] Because state law does not speak to any specific allocation to localities, it is presumed that the default allocation in Exhibit G of the national settlements applies.

What can this share be spent on?

The Attorney General has suggested that this share must be spent on the uses described in the national settlement agreement’s (non-exhaustive) Exhibit E,[2] which includes prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and other strategies.

Because cities’ and municipalities’ direct shares are explicitly excluded from the Nebraska Opioid Recovery Fund,[3] the 15% local share is exempt from the Fund’s many intricate planning and spending requirements.[4]

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

Local governments decide autonomously. Decisionmakers for the cities and counties will ultimately decide for themselves how to spend their monies on Exhibit E uses.[5]

Is this share attached to an explicit bar against supplantation?

No, supplantation is not prohibited. Like most states, Nebraska does not explicitly prohibit supplantation uses of its opioid settlement funds. This means that the 15% local share may be spent 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). 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

1. Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. Sec. 71-2490(3) (“The Nebraska Opioid Recovery Trust Fund shall exclude funds held in a trust capacity where specific benefits accrue to specific individuals, organizations, political subdivisions, or governments”), Overview: Opioid Litigation Settlements. Attorney General presentation. Accessed September 1, 2024 (describing 15% of proceeds to “93 counties and 16 Eligible Municipalities” across numerous settlements, except for monies the McKinsey settlement, none of which go to the local share), Nebraska Opioid Settlement Remediation Advisory Committee. Attorney General webpage. Accessed September 1, 2024 (“Under the Nebraska Opioid Prevention and Treatment Act, the … 15% share to eligible cities and counties is to be directly deposited by the national settlement administrator with each eligible city or county”), and Teva, Allergan CVS, and Walgreens Finalize Opioid Settlements Agreements: Nebraska to Receive over $65 million to Right the Opioid Crisis. Attorney General press release. June 9, 2023. Accessed September 1, 2024 (“Per the terms of the agreements, … 15% [is] given directly to cities and counties”). ↑

2. See Nebraska Opioid Settlement Remediation Advisory Committee. Attorney General webpage. Accessed September 2, 2024 (citing to Neb. Rev Stat. Sec. 71-2486 to assert that “[b]oth the monies deposited into the Opioid Recovery Fund and directly with eligible cities and counties must be used in a manner approved under the settlement agreement for abatement of opioid use disorder and any co-occurring mental health or substance use disorders”) and Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. Sec. 71-2486 (“The purpose of the Opioid Prevention and Treatment Act is to provide for the use of dedicated revenue for opioid-disorder-related treatment, prevention, and remediation and research regarding opioid treatment, prevention, and remediation, in accordance with the terms of any verdict, judgment, compromise, or settlement that is the source of such revenue”). See also Overview: Opioid Litigation Settlements. Attorney General presentation. Accessed September 1, 2024 (“Exhibit ‘E’ in [the] Settlements contains a list of approved uses for settlement funds”) and Distributor Settlement Agreement I.SS (“Exhibit E provides a non-exhaustive list of expenditures that qualify as being paid for Opioid Remediation”). ↑

3. Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. Sec. 71-2490(3) (“The Nebraska Opioid Recovery Trust Fund shall exclude funds held in a trust capacity where specific benefits accrue to specific individuals, organizations, political subdivisions, or governments”). ↑

4. See, e.g., Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. Secs. 71-2490, 71-2491, 71-2492, 71-2494, 81-5,153, and 81-3119. ↑

5. Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. Sec. 71-2490(3) (“The Nebraska Opioid Recovery Trust Fund shall exclude funds held in a trust capacity where specific benefits accrue to specific individuals, organizations, political subdivisions, or governments”) and Nebraska Opioid Settlement Remediation Advisory Committee. Attorney General webpage. Accessed September 1, 2024 (“The committee has no authority over any direct payments made to eligible cities and counties from the national administrator” and describing that “[t]he 15% share to eligible cities and counties is to be directly deposited by the national settlement administrator with each eligible city or county”). ↑

Can I provide input on spending?

• 85% Opioid Recovery Trust Fund share: Yes (required). The Nebraska Opioid Settlement Remediation Advisory Committee is required by its bylaws to include the opportunity for public comment period in its meetings,[1] but the Committee’s Chair “reserves the right to limit comments on agenda items.”[2] Visit the Advisory Committee’s website to find upcoming meeting dates and agendas. The Advisory Committee’s bylaws require it to meet at least once annually,[3] although it has consistently met more frequently.[4]

  • Public comments at Regional Behavioral Health Authority meetings. State law directs a portion of the 85% Opioid Recovery Trust Fund share to each of Nebraska’s six Regional Behavioral Health Authorities (RBHAs).[5] Identify the RBHA in your region, attend meetings of your RBHA’s governing body and advisory committee,[6] and provide comments on the use of settlement funds allocated to the RBHA.[7]

• 15% local share: Generally, yes. Though local governments are not required to seek public input as to opioid settlement spending specifically, Nebraska’s Open Meetings Act requires that they accept public comments during their public meetings.[8] Take advantage of this requirement by showing up to meetings of your city council or board of county commissioners and offering comments on local settlement spending.

Can I apply for grants?

It depends. As of September 1, 2024, the state has not established any grant opportunities for the Opioid Recovery Trust Fund Share. Local governments may create grant programs to distribute their share of funds. The existence, parameters, and processes for local settlement grant programs will vary by locality, so stay alert for new opportunities. Visit the Opioid Settlement Community Grants Portal (OpioidSettlementTracker.com and Legal Action Center) for the most up-to-date information on settlement grant opportunities for community organizations.

Where do I go for updates?

• For updates on the Opioid Recovery Trust Fund share, visit the Nebraska Opioid Settlement Remediation Advisory Committee’s website, which includes information about upcoming meetings, past meetings, funding updates, and other resources. See also individual regions’ opioid settlement-related websites (e.g., Region 3).

• To find updates on the local share, a good starting point is to check the websites for your county board of commissioners, city council, or local health department.[9]

What else should I know?

Not applicable.

Citations

1. The Opioid Settlement Remediation Advisory Committee’s bylaws provide that the committee may “[e]stablish processes for receiving input regarding opioid use disorder and other co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders and associated abatement needs, strategies and responses. Bylaws of the Nebraska Opioid Settlement Remediation Advisory Committee, Article II(H). June 13, 2023. However, the bylaws make the Advisory Committee subject to the state Open Meetings Act, which requires public bodies to allow for public comment. Bylaws of the Nebraska Opioid Settlement Remediation Advisory Committee, Article IV Sec. 2. June 13, 2023; Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann. Sec. 84-1412(1) ("Subject to the Open Meetings Act, the public has the right to attend and the right to speak at meetings of public bodies, and all or any part of a meeting of a public body, except for closed sessions called pursuant to section 84-1410, may be videotaped, televised, photographed, broadcast, or recorded by any person in attendance by means of a tape recorder, a camera, video equipment, or any other means of pictorial or sonic reproduction or in writing. Except for closed sessions called pursuant to section 84-1410, a public body shall allow members of the public an opportunity to speak at each meeting”). See also Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann. Sec. 84-1408 (“Every meeting of a public body shall be open to the public in order that citizens may exercise their democratic privilege of attending and speaking at meetings of public bodies, except as otherwise provided by the Constitution of Nebraska, federal statutes, and the Open Meetings Act”). ↑

2. See, e.g., Meeting Minutes, Sec. 1.e. Nebraska Opioid Settlement Remediation Advisory Committee. February 28, 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024 (“Public Comment: Pursuant to the Open Meetings Act, the Chair of the Committee reserves the right to limit comments on agenda items. Chairperson Stull stated that all agenda items will be open for public comments. Chairperson Stull stated that each commenter will have five minutes to speak”). ↑

3. Bylaws of the Nebraska Opioid Settlement Remediation Advisory Committee, Article IV Sec. 1. June 13, 2023. ↑

4. See Opioid Settlement Remediation Advisory Committee (“Meetings – Past”). Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services website. Accessed September 1, 2024. ↑

5. Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann Sec. 71-2491(3). ↑

6. Each Regional Behavioral Health Authority is “governed by a regional governing board consisting of one county board member from each county in the region.” Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann Sec. 71-808(1). Each RBHA is also required to “establish and utilize a regional advisory committee consisting of consumers, providers, and other interested parties…” Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann Sec. 71-808(2). See also 206 Neb. Admin. Code Sec. 3-001.01 (“Pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. Sec. 71-808, each Regional Behavioral Health Authority must establish and utilize a Regional Advisory Committee for the purpose of advising the Regional Behavioral Health Authority on needs and matters relating to community behavioral health services provided in the Region”); 206 Neb. Admin. Code Sec. 3-001.01(D) (“The Regional Advisory Committee must meet quarterly per year at a minimum”). ↑

7. Each Regional Behavioral Health Authority is required to “facilitate the involvement of consumers in all aspects of service planning and delivery within the region.” Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann Sec. 71-808(2). Additionally, an RBHA’s governing body and its advisory committee are likely subject to the state’s Open Meetings Act, which requires public bodies to allow for public comment. Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann Secs. 84-1409(1)(a), 84-1412(1). See also Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann Sec. 84-1408. ↑

8. Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann Sec. 84-1412(1). See also Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann Sec. 84-1408. ↑

9. The Nebraska Association of County Officials’ Opioid Litigation Settlements page contains general information related to the litigation. ↑

Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services

• Opioid Settlement Remediation Advisory Committee

• Bylaws of the Opioid Settlement Remediation Advisory Committee (June 2023)

• Grant and Contract Opportunities

• Public Participation and State Committees

• Annual Opioid Prevention Funds Report (December 2023)

• Opioid Settlement State Plan Overview

Regional Behavioral Health Authorities

• Region 1

• Region 2

• Region 3

• Region 4

• Region 5

• Region 6

Nebraska Association of County Officials

• Opioid Litigation Settlements Resources

Nebraska State Legislature

• Unicameral Update: Opioid fund changes approved (April 15, 2024)

Nebraska Attorney General’s Office

• Nebraska Opioid Settlement Remediation Advisory Committee

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

Has the state established an advisory body for settlement funds?

Yes. Nebraska established the to recommend uses of the 85% Opioid Recovery Trust Fund share to the ’ .[2] According to its bylaws, the Advisory Committee may:[3]

• Establish eligibility criteria for distributing monies from the Opioid Recovery Trust Fund,[4] including as grants

• Establish criteria for the allocation of monies from the Opioid Recovery Trust Fund among the state’s political subdivisions and

• Establish criteria on core strategies and approved uses of monies from the Opioid Recovery Trust Fund

• Receive grant applications and recommend grant award processes, frequency, recipients, and amounts

• Conduct or authorize surveys and needs assessments

• Establish processes for receiving input regarding opioid use disorder and co-occurring conditions and associated abatement needs, strategies, and responses

• Establish processes and criteria to evaluate uses of monies from the Opioid Recovery Trust Fund, including performance metrics and outcome reporting

• Otherwise assist the Division of Behavioral Health with respect to opioid settlement funds

The Advisory Committee’s bylaws require it to meet at least once annually,[5] though it has consistently ,[6] and to comply with the state’s .[7]

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

Yes. The Advisory Committee’s bylaws require the state attorney general to appoint at least one member who is “a consumer of substance use disorder services.”[8]

What is the overall membership of the state advisory body?

The Opioid Settlement Remediation Advisory Committee’s bylaws provide for 12 to 24 members, split evenly between local representatives and state members.[9]

• The state attorney general appoints between six and 12 state members — whatever is “equivalent to the total number of local” appointments. Of the appointed state members:[11]

  • At least one must be a consumer of substance use disorder services.

  • At least one must have “specialized knowledge, experience, or expertise relating to the provision of substance use disorder services in Nebraska.”

  • At least one must have “specialized knowledge, experience, or expertise relating to the provision of mental health services in Nebraska.”

  • At least one must be a staff or faculty member of an accredited medical school of a public or private university within the state.

  • At least one must be a representative of a medical, health care, or pharmacological association that has members statewide.

  • At least one must represent a state law enforcement agency.

• The state’s attorney general and director of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services’ Division of Behavioral Health — or their designees — also serve as non-voting, ex-officio members.[12]

Terms: Advisory Committee members are appointed to initial two-year terms and able to serve up to two additional two-year terms (i.e., six years total).[13]

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 Nebraska are not required to establish opioid settlement advisory bodies. However, localities may 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?

Citations

1. DHHS Director of Developmental Disabilities and Interim Director of the Division of Behavioral Health “Tony Green discussed how LB1355 was written with the Committee’s purpose in mind. … Discussion focused on the Committee’s scope of work, to whom the Committee reports, and whether this Committee would continue to exist per the legislation. Comparisons were made between LB1355 and the Distributors Settlement Agreement as to the requirement of having this Committee. Further clarity on this topic is requested from the Attorney General’s office before any actions will be taken” (emphasis added). ↑

15. Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann Sec. 71-2491(3). ↑

16. Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann Sec. 71-809(1). ↑

17. Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann Sec. 71-808(1). ↑

18. Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann Sec. 71-808(2). ↑

19. 206 Neb. Admin. Code Sec. 3-001.01. ↑

20. 206 Neb. Admin. Code Sec. 3-001.01(D). ↑

Where do these monies live?

The Nebraska Opioid Recovery Trust Fund holds 85% of the state’s opioid settlement funds.[1] A 2024 amendment to Nebraska’s original statutory scheme further sub-allocated monies,[2] with 75% of the total settlement funds received by the state transferred to Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Cash Fund and 25% to the Opioid Prevention and Treatment Cash Fund.[3]

Specifically, effective July 2024, amounts are annually sub-allocated as follows:[4]

• About $9 million — or an amount as “determined by the Legislature” — to the Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Cash Fund[5]

• $3 million to the Opioid Prevention and Treatment Cash Fund,[6] with state law outlining specific disbursements to Nebraska’s behavioral health regions in these percentages:[7]

  • 5.476% to region 1

  • 5.112% to region 2

  • 10.8982% to region 3

  • 8.5833% to region 4

  • 25.7421% to region 5

  • 44.1869% to region 6

• $1.125 million to the Training Division Cash Fund[8]

• $400,000 to the Health and Human Services Cash Fund[9]

What can this share be spent on?

In general, and with limited exceptions,[10] this share must be spent on the uses described in the national settlement agreement’s (non-exhaustive) Exhibit E,[11] which includes prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and other strategies.

The state has also assigned specific uses to each of its annual allocations from the Opioid Recovery Trust Fund:[12]

• The Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Cash Fund must be spent on entities engaged in opioid use prevention and on treatment infrastructure projects as determined by the DHHS Division of Behavioral Health (“including capital construction and renovation”).[13] Administrative expenses are capped at 5%.[14]

• The Opioid Prevention and Treatment Cash Fund must be spent by behavioral health regions “for purposes of the Opioid Prevention and Treatment Act,”[15] which Nebraska law defines for this share to mean “opioid treatment and response,” “data tracking related to the opioid epidemic,” “supporting individual recovery and rehabilitation related to the opioid epidemic,” and “opioid use prevention and opioid remediation.”[16] The Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) has also elaborated on uses for this sub-allocation, which regional behavioral health authorities are tasked with spending on “initiatives for law enforcement and local health entities.”[17]

• The Training Division Cash Fund must be spent “to connect first responders to behavioral health services, supports, and training and for a statewide wellness learning plan that includes anonymous assessments, education, and awareness to promote resiliency development.”[18]

• The Health and Human Services Cash Fund must be spent to carry out the Overdose Fatality Review Teams Act.[19]

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

Department of Health and Humans Services Division of Behavioral Health (DBH) and regions decide majority (Opioid Settlement Remediation Advisory Committee advises DBH). Specific expenditures of the Nebraska Opioid Recovery Trust Fund are made by the various decision-makers assigned to each of its numerous sub-funds. However, the Department of Health and Humans Services’ (DHHS) Division of Behavioral Health ultimately decides most of the expenditures for the state’s 85% Opioid Recovery Trust Fund share.[20]

• Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Cash Fund: Legislature and DHHS Division of Behavioral Health decide. The DHHS Division of Behavioral Health (DBH) is responsible for using this fund “as appropriated by the Legislature for local and state public-private partnerships for nonprofit and for-profit entities engaged in opioid use prevention” and “opioid use prevention and opioid treatment infrastructure projects as determined by [DBH].”[21] The Opioid Settlement Remediation Advisory Committee is responsible for advising DBH on its Nebraska Opioid Recovery Trust Fund expenditures.[22]

• Opioid Prevention and Treatment Cash Fund: Regional behavioral health authorities decide. DHHS distributes this share to the six regional behavioral health authorities,[23] who independently decide how to spend their shares.[24]

• Training Division Cash Fund: State Fire Marshall decides. The Nebraska State Fire Marshall, who administers this fund,[25] decides specific expenditures consistent with parameters in state law.[26]

• Health and Human Services Cash Fund: DHHS staff decide. This fund must be used “for [DHHS] staff to carry out the Overdose Fatality Review Teams Act,"[27] the purposes of which are to establish a framework where county-level, multidisciplinary overdose fatality review teams recommend policy changes and allocation of resources “to prevent future overdoses.”[28]

Is this share attached to an explicit bar against supplantation?

No, supplantation is not prohibited. Like most states, Nebraska does not explicitly prohibit supplantation uses of its opioid settlement funds. This means that the 85% Opioid Recovery Trust Fund 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 (no public reporting required, only intrastate). View DHHS’ Annual Opioid Prevention Funds Report (December 2023) for a limited description of its opioid settlement activities from July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023.[29] DHHS is required to report uses of funds — but not specific expenditures — to the legislature, Governor, and Attorney General on or before December 15 each year.[30]

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

What else should I know?

In December 2023, DHHS wrote to the Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee to reject its request for proposal (RFP) process for failing to comply with the state’s competitive bidding requirements.[31]

Citations

1. Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann. Sec. 71-2490(1) (establishes the Opioid Recovery Fund). Nebraska Opioid Settlement Remediation Advisory Committee. Nebraska Attorney General webpage. Accessed September 1, 2024 (“Under the ‘distributors’ settlement agreement, 70% of any payments are to be deposited into an opioid epidemic abatement fund (in Nebraska, the Opioid Recovery Fund) …Under the Nebraska Opioid Prevention and Treatment Act, the state’s 15% share is also to be deposited into the Opioid Recovery Fund”). See also Teva, Allergan CVS, and Walgreens Finalize Opioid Settlements Agreements: Nebraska to Receive over $65 million to Right the Opioid Crisis. Attorney General press release. June 9, 2023. Accessed September 1, 2024 (“Per the terms of the agreements, 85% of … funds will be deposited in the Nebraska Opioid Recovery Fund”) and Overview: Opioid Litigation Settlements. Attorney General presentation. Accessed September 1, 2024 ( describing 85% to Opioid Recovery Fund across numerous settlements, with the exception of McKinsey, 100% of which goes to the Opioid Recovery Fund). ↑

2. 2024 NE LB1355. Codified at Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann. Secs. 71-2485 to 71-2495. See also Opioid Fund Changes Approved. Unicameral Update (NE legislature’s official news source). April 15, 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024. Interestingly, this legislation also directs annual appropriations from the state’s general fund. See e.g., Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann. Secs. 71-2495 (“It is the intent of the Legislature to annually appropriate two hundred fifty thousand dollars from the General Fund to the Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska for research at the University of Nebraska Medical Center”) . ↑

3. Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann. Sec. 71-2490(4)(c) (“It is the intent of the Legislature that, of the total settlement funds received by the State of Nebraska and transferred from the Nebraska Opioid Recovery Trust Fund to the Opioid Prevention and Treatment Cash Fund and to the Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Cash Fund, twenty-five percent of such funds are transferred to the Opioid Prevention and Treatment Cash Fund and seventy-five percent of such funds are transferred to the Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Cash Fund”). ↑

4. Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann. Sec. 71-2490(4)(b) (“The State Treasurer shall transfer the following amounts from the Nebraska Opioid Recovery Trust Fund on or after July 1, 2024, but before July 15, 2024, and on or after July 1 but before July 15 of each year thereafter”). ↑

5. Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. Sec. 71-2490(4)(b)(iv) (“An amount determined by the Legislature to the Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Cash Fund”) and Sec. 71-2490(4)(c) (providing that “[i]t is the intent of the Legislature” that the Opioid Prevention and Treatment Cash Fund and the Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Cash Fund pursue a 25%-75% allocation). State law specifies that the Opioid Prevention and Treatment and Cash Fund (the 25% portion) is to be $3 million. Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. Sec. 71-2491(3). It follows that the Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Cash Fund is to receive about $9 million. ↑

6. Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. Sec. 71-2491(3). ↑

7. Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. Sec. 71-2491(3)(a)-(f) (describing allotments to the thousandth percent to Regions 1 through 6). ↑

8. Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. Sec. 81-5,153 (describing the Training Division Cash Fund) and Sec. 71-2490(4)(b)(i) ($1.125 million from the Nebraska Opioid Recovery Trust Fund to the Training Division Cash Fund). ↑

9. Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. Sec. 81-3119 (describing the Health and Human Services Cash Fund) and Sec. 71-2490(4)(b)(ii) ($400,000 from the Nebraska Opioid Recovery Trust Fund to the Health and Human Services Cash Fund). ↑

10. Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. Sec. 71-2492(2) (capping administrative uses of only the Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Cash Fund at 5%), Bylaws of the Nebraska Opioid Settlement Remediation Advisory Committee, Art. VII Sec. 1 (Advisory Committee Bylaws) (“The Division [of Behavioral Health] may utilize the [Nebraska Opioid Recovery] Fund for reasonable expenses including personnel costs or reasonable and necessary expenses of the Committee or Committee members as provided in the opioid settlement agreements necessary to fulfill its administrative responsibilities”), and Distributor Settlement Agreement I.SS (“Qualifying expenditures may include reasonable related administrative expenses”). ↑

11. Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. Sec. 71-2490(2) (“Any funds appropriated, expended, or distributed from the Nebraska Opioid Recovery Trust Fund shall be spent in accordance with the terms of any verdict, judgment, compromise, or settlement”), Sec. 71-2490(4)(a) (“Any money transferred from the Nebraska Opioid Recovery Trust Fund shall be expended in accordance with the terms and conditions of the litigation or settlement from which the money was received”), and Distributor Settlement Agreement I.SS (“Exhibit E provides a non-exhaustive list of expenditures that qualify as being paid for Opioid Remediation”). See also Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. Sec. 71-2485.01(5) (defining “Opioid Remediation” to mean “care, treatment, and other programs and expenditures designed to (a) address the misuse and abuse of opioid products, (b) treat or mitigate opioid use or related disorders, (c) mitigate other effects of the opioid epidemic, including the effects on those injured as a result of the opioid epidemic, (d) support treatment of any co-occurring substance use disorder or mental health condition”). See also Overview: Opioid Litigation Settlements. Attorney General presentation. Accessed September 1, 2024 (“Exhibit ‘E’ in [the] Settlements contains a list of approved uses for settlement funds”). ↑

12. Nebraska Opioid Settlement Remediation Advisory Committee. Attorney General website. Accessed September 1, 2024 (“Both the monies deposited into the Opioid Recovery Fund and directly with eligible cities and counties must be used in a manner approved under the settlement agreement for abatement of opioid use disorder and any co-occurring mental health or substance use disorders. Monies deposited into the Opioid Recovery Fund must additionally adhere to any requirements of the Nebraska Opioid Prevention and Treatment Act”). ↑

13. Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. Sec. 71-2492(2) (“The division shall use the Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Cash Fund as appropriated by the Legislature for local and state public-private partnerships for nonprofit and for-profit entities engaged in opioid use prevention and opioid treatment infrastructure projects as determined by the division, including capital construction and renovation”). ↑

14. Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. Sec. 71-2492(2) (“The administrative cost for distributing funds under this section shall not exceed an amount equal to five percent of the amount distributed”). ↑

15. Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. Sec. 71-2490(4)(b)(iii). ↑

16. Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. Sec. 71-2494(1)(a)-(d) (listing above-quoted uses) and Sec. 71-2491(4) (“The regional behavioral health authorities shall only spend such disbursements for purposes identified in section 71-2494”). ↑

17. Opioid Settlement State Plan Overview. DHHS presentation. Accessed September 1, 2024. The presentation offers examples of initiatives that could be supported by the settlement funding disbursed to the regional health authorities. ↑

18. Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. Sec. 71-2490(4)(b)(i) and Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. 81-5,153(3). Note that not all monies in the Training Division Cash Fund come from the Opioid Recovery Trust Fund. See Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. Sec. 81-5,152. These other monies can be transferred to the state’s general fund at the legislature’s discretion. Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. 81-5,153(2) ("Money collected pursuant to section 81-5,152 shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the fund. Such money in the fund shall be used for the purpose of administering the training program established pursuant to sections 81-5,151 to 81-5,157, except that transfers may be made from such money in the fund to the General Fund at the direction of the Legislature”). ↑

19. Sec. 71-2490(4)(b)(ii) and Neb. Rev Stat. Ann Sec. 81-3119(2). Note that not all monies in the Health and Human Services Cash Fund come from the Opioid Recovery Trust Fund. These other monies can be transferred to the state’s general fund at the legislature’s discretion. Neb. Rev Stat. Ann Sec. 81-3119(2) (“Any money transferred from the Nebraska Opioid Recovery Trust Fund shall be used for staff to carry out the Overdose Fatality Review Teams Act.Any other money in the Health and Human Services Cash Fund may be transferred to the General Fund at the direction of the Legislature”). ↑

20. Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann. Sec. 71-2490(4)(c) (“It is the intent of the Legislature that, of the total settlement funds received by the State of Nebraska and transferred from the Nebraska Opioid Recovery Trust Fund to the Opioid Prevention and Treatment Cash Fund and to the Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Cash Fund, twenty-five percent of such funds are transferred to the Opioid Prevention and Treatment Cash Fund and seventy-five percent of such funds are transferred to the Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Cash Fund”). See also “Where do these monies live?” in this section for a summary of the Nebraska Opioid Recovery Trust Fund’s various sub-funds’ sizes. ↑

21. Neb. Rev. Stat. Ann. Sec. 71-2490(4)(c) (“It is the intent of the Legislature that, of the total settlement funds received by the State of Nebraska and transferred from the Nebraska Opioid Recovery Trust Fund to the Opioid Prevention and Treatment Cash Fund and to the Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Cash Fund, twenty-five percent of such funds are transferred to the Opioid Prevention and Treatment Cash Fund and seventy-five percent of such funds are transferred to the Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Cash Fund”), Neb. Rev Stat. Ann Sec. 71-2492(2) ("The division shall use the Opioid Treatment Infrastructure Cash Fund as appropriated by the Legislature”). See also Neb. Rev Stat. Ann Sec. 71-2485.01(1) (“Division means the Division of Behavioral Health of the Department of Health and Human Services”). ↑

22. The Advisory Committee’s bylaws detail the following sequence: “DBH shall carry out disbursements as recommended by the Committee upon verification by the Attorney General … that such Committee recommendations are in compliance with [state law], in accordance with the respective opioid settlement agreements, and approved by [DBH].” Advisory Committee Bylaws, Art. II (“The Committee shall be responsible for making recommendations to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Behavioral Health [‘Division’] regarding the allocation, distribution, grant, award or expenditure of monies deposited into the Nebraska Opioid Recovery Fund [‘Fund’] in accordance with Nebraska’s Opioid Prevention and Treatment Act”). The Committee is also empowered to establish criteria for core strategies and approved uses of the Fund. See Advisory Committee Bylaws, Art. II(D) (“In accordance with the Act and opioid settlement agreements, the Committee may … Establish criteria regarding core strategies and approved uses of monies from the Fund”). The Bylaws cite to Exhibit E of the Distributor Settlement here (see FN 4). ↑

23. Neb. Rev Stat. Ann Sec. 71-2491(3) (“It is the intent of the Legislature to annually appropriate from the Opioid Prevention and Treatment Cash Fund beginning in FY2024-25 three million dollars to the Department of Health and Human Services for disbursement by the division to regional behavioral health authorities for behavioral health regions”). See also Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. Sec. 71-2491(3)(a)-(f). ↑

24. Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. Sec. 71-2490(4)(b)(iii) (“for purposes of the Opioid Prevention and Treatment Act”), Sec. 71-2491(4) (“The regional behavioral health authorities shall only spend such disbursements for purposes identified in section 71-2494”), and Sec. 71-2494(1)(a)-(d). ↑

25. Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. Sec. 81-5,153(1) (“The Training Division Cash Fund is created. The State Fire Marshal shall administer the fund”). ↑

26. Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. Sec. 71-2490(4)(b)(i) and Sec. 81-5,153(3). ↑

27. Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. Sec. 71-2490(4)(b)(ii) and Sec. 81-3119(2). ↑

28. Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. Sec. 71-3424(1)-(2). ↑

29. The only dollar amounts discussed in this report pertain to the Advisory Committee’s attendance reimbursement costs ($1,563) and Regional Behavioral Health Authorities’ initial $10 million disbursement award. ↑

30. Neb. Rev Stat. Ann. Sec. 71-2489. ↑

31. Letter from Interim Director of DHHS DBH to Chairperson of Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee. December 19, 2023. Accessed September 1, 2024 (“DHHS is bound by the State’s competitive bidding requirements contained in Nebraska Revised Statute, and the Department of Administrative Services’ procedures. The RFP process conducted by the Committee does not comport with these requirements”). ↑