Tennessee’s Opioid Settlements

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

Total Funds

$1.12 billion[1]

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

Allocation

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

Mechanism

State-Local Agreements (Tennessee State-Subdivision Opioid Abatement Agreement and 2023 Amendments); Legislation (Tenn. Code Ann. Secs. 9-4-1301 through 1305 and Secs. 33-11-101 through 1106)

	70% Opioid Abatement Fund Share	15% State Share	15% Local Share
Ultimate Decisionmaker	Tennessee Opioid Abatement Council (for 65% of this share, or 45.5% of TN’s total funds) and county officials (for 35% of this share, or 24.5% of TN’s total funds)	Tennessee General Assembly	Local officials for counties and municipalities
Decision-making Process	The Tennessee Opioid Abatement Council decides expenditures for the 65% “Community Funding” portion of this share after considering the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services’ needs assessment and allowing public comment from other stakeholders (e.g., community, service providers, and public health advocates). County officials decide expenditures for their 35% “County” portion of this share consistent with Council-approved programs.	Tennessee General Assembly decides	Localities decide autonomously
Supplantation	Partially prohibited (“Community Funding” portion only)	Not prohibited	Not prohibited
Grant Funding	Yes. See Community Funding (opportunities funded by Council-controlled 65% portion only). Grantmaking from the 35% “County Funding” portion is up to each county (availability and processes will vary).	No	Up to each locality (availability and processes will vary)
Public Input	Yes (required).	No opportunities available (not required)	Up to each locality (not required)
Advisory Body	Yes (required). See the Tennessee Opioid Abatement Council. The Abatement Council is not required to include member(s) with lived and/or living experience.	No (not required)	Up to each locality (not required)
Expenditures	No public reporting required (only intrastate), but see the Tennessee Opioid Abatement Council’s annual reports, Community Funding page, and County Funding page.	Neither public nor intrastate reporting required	Neither public nor intrastate reporting required
Updates	For updates on the Opioid Abatement Fund share, visit the Tennessee Opioid Abatement Council’s website and sign-up for its mailing list. The Council’s Reports and Resources page links to the state’s annual report and a County Funding page that includes information about counties’ annual payments and semiannual reports of their Opioid Abatement Fund uses.	A single resource containing updates specific to the state share updates could not be found. See the Attorney General’s general Opioid Settlements webpage.	To find updates on the local share, a good starting point is to check the websites for your board of county commissioners, city council, or local health department. (See, e.g., Campbell County, Cannon County, Cocke County, Madison County).