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

• 50% state share: New Jersey Department of Human Services

• 50% local share: local officials for counties, cities, townships, and boroughs

Where do these monies live?

New Jersey’s local share is distributed to its 262 participating counties, cities, townships, and boroughs,[1] which include all of its 21 counties.[2]

What can this share be spent on?

With limited exceptions,[3] this share must be spent on the approved uses described in Exhibit A of New Jersey’s MOA,[4] which is identical to the national settlement agreements’ Exhibit E, Schedule B (“Approved Uses”) and includes prevention, harm reduction, treatment, recovery, and other strategies.[5] State law also includes a non-exhaustive list of “evidence-based or evidence-informed practices or strategies” that largely derive from the national settlement agreements’ Exhibit E, Schedule B.[6] Reimbursement uses of opioid settlement funds are specifically prohibited statewide.[7]

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

Local governments decide autonomously. Decisionmakers for the counties, cities, townships, and boroughs will ultimately decide for themselves how to spend their monies on approved uses.[8] Each county is required by state law and New Jersey’s MOA to establish a “County Advisory Council” to provide input, advice, and recommendations on the use of its funds for approved purposes,[9] and municipalities may request input, advice, and recommendations from their County Advisory Councils on uses of their funds as well.[10]

According to a state FAQ, “[c]ounty departments, divisions, or agencies that include the County Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Director will serve as the lead agenc[ies] responsible for county abatement funds and reporting responsibilities.”[11]

The Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund Advisory Council may, but is not required to, recommend local share expenditures and to coordinate with County Advisory Councils “as the [Advisory Council] chairperson deems appropriate."[12]

Is this share attached to an explicit bar against supplantation?

Yes, supplantation is prohibited. New Jersey state law explicitly prohibits supplantation uses of state and local opioid settlement funds.[13] This means that New Jersey’s opioid settlement funds must be spent in ways that supplement — rather than replace (or “supplant”) — existing resources.

Can I see how this share has been spent?

Yes (public reporting required). View the state’s and subdivision’s annual spending reports here. New Jersey’s MOA requires local governments to annually report its expenditures, including funding recipients, amount disbursed on approved purposes, and spending on administrative expenses. These reports are provided to the state and must be made public as well.[14]

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. Memorandum of Agreement Between the State of New Jersey and Local Governments on Opioid Litigation Recoveries (MOA) C.2 provides that this share will be distributed according to the percentages in Exhibit B of New Jersey’s agreement, but other sections of the MOA better clarify municipalities’ ability to receive monies directly and optionally transfer their share to their containing counties. See MOA C.4. See also MOA D.1 (providing that the “Local Government Share shall be paid by check or wire transfer directly from the Trustee to the appropriate account identified by the Participating Local Government Entity whether it be a County or Municipality”). ↑

2. The participation of all of New Jersey’s counties eliminates the need for non-participating county “regions” of participating cities anticipated by MOA C.1-2. See Opioid Settlement Funds. New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller website. Accessed September 1, 2024 (“The State will receive half of the funds and the other half will be allocated directly to 262 local government entities—all 21 counties and those municipalities with populations above 10,000)”). See also Governor Murphy and AG Platkin Announce 100% Participation by NJ Counties and Municipalities in $20.1 Billion Nationwide Opioid Settlements with CVS, Walgreens, Walmart Pharmacies, and Two Drug Makers Teva and Allergan. New Jersey Attorney General press release. May 2, 2023. Accessed September 1, 2024 (announcing that “all 21 counties and all 241 municipalities” had signed onto agreements with CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Teva, and Allergan) and Acting AG Bruck Announces 100% Participation by New Jersey Counties and Municipalities in Historic $26 Billion Opioid Settlement. New Jersey Attorney General press release. February 2, 2022. Accessed September 1, 2024 (announcing that “all 21 counties in New Jersey, and all 241 municipalities” have signed onto settlements with Johnson & Johnson, McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen). ↑

3. N.J. Stat. Sec. 26:2G-39(c)(1)(b) (describing “payment of attorneys’ fees, costs, and related litigation expenses related to the national opioid litigation resolution” as an approved use of Fund monies); N.J. Stat. Sec. 26:2G-39(e)(15) (describing “[a]dministrative expenses, subject to limits imposed by any national opioid litigation resolution” as an approved use of Fund monies); MOA D.2-D.3 and F.2 (acknowledging exception to requirement for spending on approved purposes as to “administrative expenses . . . and counsel and litigation fees,” capping administrative expenses at 5% of the “State Share,” inclusive of trustee expenses). ↑

4. MOA D.2 (spending to be consistent with approved purposes) and B.1 (defining “Approved Purpose(s”)). ↑

5. The national settlement agreement’s “Approved Uses” list is Schedule B of its Exhibit E, a document that “provides a non-exhaustive list of expenditures that qualify as being paid for Opioid Remediation. Qualifying expenditures may include reasonable related administrative expenses.” Distributor Settlement Agreement I.SS. ↑

6. N.J. Stat. Sec. 26:2G-39(e)(1)-(14). ↑

7. N.J. Stat. Sec. 26:2G-39(f) (“no amount of such moneys shall be used to reimburse the State or any of its counties or municipalities for past expenditures, except as may otherwise be required to refund to the federal government a portion of the moneys”). “Such moneys” refers to funds “allocated to or otherwise received by the State or any of its counties or municipalities as a result of a national opioid litigation resolution.” See also MOA D.7 (“no amount of such moneys shall be used to reimburse the State or any of its counties or municipalities for past expenditures, except as may otherwise be required to refund the federal government a portion of the moneys”). ↑

8. See, e.g., Opioid Settlements Frequently Asked Questions. State of New Jersey Opioid Settlements webpage. Accessed August 9, 2024 (“All local allocation decisions are made locally”). ↑

9. N.J. Stat. Sec. 26:2G-42 (“A county that directly receives moneys as a result of a national opioid litigation resolution shall establish an advisory council to provide input, advice, and recommendations on the disbursement of such moneys and, if requested by a municipality within the county, on the disbursement of moneys from a national opioid litigation resolution received by the municipality”). See also MOA C.3. ↑

10. N.J. Stat. Sec. 26:2G-42, MOA C.3. ↑

11. Opioid Settlements Frequently Asked Questions. State of Jersey website. Accessed August 9, 2024 (see response to the question “Which towns and counties will receive opioid settlement funds?”). ↑

12. N.J. Stat. Sec. C.26:2G-40(f)(2). See State of Jersey, Opioid Settlements Frequently Asked Questions. Accessed August 9, 2024 (see response to the question “What is the role of the New Jersey Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund Advisory Council?”). ↑

13. N.J. Stat. Sec. 26:2G-39(f) (“Moneys, other than attorneys’ fees, costs, and expenses related to litigation, that are allocated to or otherwise received by the State or any of its counties or municipalities as a result of a national opioid litigation resolution shall be used to supplement, and shall not supplant, federal, State, county, or municipal funds, as the case may be, that otherwise would have been used to carry out the purposes delineated in this act”). See also Memorandum of Agreement Between the State of New Jersey and Local Governments on Opioid Litigation Recoveries, Sec. D(7). ↑

14. MOA F.4. ↑

Where do these monies live?

The Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund holds 50% of New Jersey’s opioid settlement funds.[1]

What can this share be spent on?

With limited exceptions,[2] this share must be spent on the approved uses described in of New Jersey’s MOA,[3] which is identical to the national settlement agreements’ Exhibit E, (“Approved Uses”) and includes prevention, harm reduction, treatment, recovery, and other strategies.[4] State law also includes a non-exhaustive list of “evidence-based or evidence-informed practices or strategies” that largely derive from the national settlement agreements’ Exhibit E, .[5] Reimbursement uses of opioid settlement funds are specifically prohibited statewide.[6]

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

New Jersey Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund Advisory Council guides, Department of Human Services decides. The (DHS) ultimately decides specific expenditures for this share after consulting its .[7] In allocating funds, DHS must “consider equitable access for underserviced communities Statewide.”[8]

DHS retains the power to direct settlement monies to “other State departments.”[9] In February 2024, the Governor announced DHS’s decision to direct $95 million to programs that will be administered by the Departments of Human Services, Health, and Children and Families over the next two to three years.[10]

Is this share attached to an explicit bar against supplantation?

Yes, supplantation is prohibited. New Jersey state law explicitly prohibits supplantation uses of state and local opioid settlement funds.[11] This means that New Jersey’s opioid settlement funds must be spent in ways that supplement — rather than replace (or “supplant”) — existing resources.

Can I see how this share has been spent?

Yes (public reporting required). View the state’s and subdivision’s annual spending reports .[12] New Jersey law requires DHS to publicly report “details of allocations made” using funds appropriated from the Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund.[13]

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

What else should I know?

In March 2024, the Attorney General’s office established the Office of Alternative and Community Responses (OACR) to serve as the Department of Law and Public Safety’s (DLPS) lead entity “with respect to recovery and treatment services for substance use disorders.”[14] The OACR’s Opioid Prevention and Response Bureau (OPRB) will serve as DLPS’s point of contact “for discussions involving the use of settlement funds.”[15]

Citations

5. N.J. Stat. Sec. 26:2G-39(e)(1)-(14). ↑

8. N.J. Stat. Sec. 26:2G-39(d). ↑

9. N.J. Stat. Sec. 26:2G-39(c)(4) (“Moneys from the fund may be transferred to other State departments as directed by the Commissioner of Human Services in support of the purposes provided for in this act, subject to the approval of the Director of Budget and Accounting”). ↑