30% Local Share
Where do these monies live?
This share is distributed directly to Ohio’s counties, townships, cities, and villages according to Exhibit B of Ohio’s MOU.[1]
What can this share be spent on?
With limited exceptions,[2] this share must be spent on approved purposes, which the MOU defines to mean the “evidence-based[,] forward-looking strategies, programming[,] and services” described in its Ohio Abatement Strategies list (“Exhibit A” of Ohio’s MOU).[3] Exhibit A contains three categories of interventions: Strategies for Community Recovery, for Statewide Innovation & Recovery, and for Sustainability.[4] This share may also be used to reimburse past abatement expenditures.[5]
Who ultimately decides how to spend this share (and how)?
Localities decide autonomously. Decisionmakers for the counties, cities, townships, and villages will ultimately decide for themselves how to spend their monies on approved purposes.[6] Local governments’ governing bodies (i.e., board of county commissioners or city council) must pass resolutions to spend funds from this share on reimbursement uses.[7]
Is this share attached to an explicit bar against supplantation?
No, supplantation is not prohibited. Ohio does not explicitly prohibit supplantation uses of opioid settlement funds from the local share. This means that the 30% 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
OneOhio Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) A.2 (defining “Local Governments” to mean “all counties, townships, cities and villages within the geographic boundaries of the State of Ohio”), B.1 (“30% going to Local Governments (‘LG Share’)”), B.3 (“The [Local Governments] allocations are set forth in Exhibit B”), and B.7 (“The LG Share shall be paid in cash and directly to Local Governments”). Non-participating local governments’ amounts are redistributed to participating local governments. MOU B.4. See also MOU B.5 (“If the LG Share is less than $500, then that amount will instead be distributed to the county in which the Local Government lies to allow practical application of the abatement remedy”). Additionally, Cuyahoga County and Summit County are excepted from several payouts given their previous bellwether settlements with companies including McKesson, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, Johnson & Johnson, and Teva. ↑
The Foundation and Local Government (LG) shares may both be used to fund the Local Government (attorneys’) Fee Fund (LGFF), which contains a maximum of 11.05% of the total monies from any settlement. MOU C.1-2 and C.5 . See also MOU C.3 (“The first 45% of the LGFF amount shall be drawn from the LG Share. The remaining 55% shall be drawn from the Foundation Share. No portion of the LGFF Amount may be assessed against or drawn from the State Share).” Any unused monies from the LGFF after payment of fees revert to the Foundation. MOU C.8. See also Overview of the Foundation. OneOhio Recovery Foundation. April 2023. Accessed August 14, 2024 (chart depicts the Foundation’s operating costs as against its investments and grants). ↑
MOU B.2 (“All Opioid Funds, regardless of allocation, shall be utilized in a manner consistent with the Approved Purposes definition”) and MOU A.7 (defining “Approved Purpose(s)” to mean “evidence-based forward-looking strategies, programming and services … as is further set forth in the agreed Opioid Abatement Strategies attached as Exhibit A”). See also MOU Exhibit A (referring to itself as “Ohio Abatement Strategies”). ↑
Unlike the first two components, “Strategies for Sustainability” does not have a standalone section within the MOU’s Exhibit A, but Exhibit A’s first page describes “Strategies for Sustainability” as including “collaborat[ion] to share resources and knowledge” and “build[ing] sustainable financing strategy and infrastructure to reverse the damage that has been done and prevent future epidemics and crises.” ↑
MOU B.2 (“The LG Share may also be used for past expenditures so long as the expenditures were made for purposes consistent with the remaining provisions of the Approved Purposes definition. Prior to using any portion of the LG Share as restitution for past expenditures, a Local Government shall pass a resolution or take equivalent governmental action that explains its determination that its prior expenditures for Approved Purposes are greater than or equal to the amount of the LG Share that the Local Government seeks to use for restitution”). See also MOU A.7 (“For purposes of the Local Government Share, “Approved Purpose(s)” will also include past expenditures”). ↑
See MOU B generally, which contains several provisions that speak to local governments’ decision-making autonomy vis-à-vis their 30% share. See also Foundation FAQs. OneOhio Recovery Foundation website. Accessed August 14, 2024 (“[local governments’] direct payments are separate and distinct from those managed by the Foundation”). ↑
MOU B.2 (“Prior to using any portion of the LG Share as restitution for past expenditures, a Local Government shall pass a resolution or take equivalent governmental action that explains its determination that its prior expenditures for Approved Purposes are greater than or equal to the amount of the LG Share that the Local Government seeks to use for restitution”). ↑
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