Advisory Bodies

Has the state established an advisory body for settlement funds?

Yes. Texas state law establishes the Texas Opioid Abatement Fund Council to direct the allocation of settlement monies from the 70% Texas Abatement Fund share.[1] The Council is responsible for:

• Determining and approving evidence-based opioid abatement strategies[2]

• Developing a funding application and award process, reviewing grant applications, and providing grant awards and funding allocations[3]

• Monitoring and enforcing the terms of grant agreements, including a requirement that grantees reimburse the Council for non-compliance[4]

• Determining the percentage of funds that may be used to develop education and outreach programs on the consequences of opioid misuse and prevention and intervention[5]

• Reallocating a region’s funds if the funds lapse or the region does not use all the funds allocated to them in any given year[6]

The Council must meet at least four times each year and is subject to the Texas Open Meetings and Public Information laws.[7]

The Texas Opioid Abatement Fund Program’s rules also anticipate review by a peer review panel — a “group of experts in the field of opioid abatement” — to “provide guidance and recommendations to the council in making decisions for grant awards.”[8] This panel is required to score and recommend any changes to Opioid Abatement Fund grant applications to grant program staff.[9]

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

No. The state law establishing the Texas Opioid Abatement Fund Council does not require the inclusion of members with lived and/or living experience.

What is the overall membership of the state advisory body?

The Texas Opioid Abatement Fund Council is a 14-member body that includes:

• Six regional members who are academics or medical professionals with significant experience in opioid interventions, appointed by the Commissioner of Texas’ Health and Human Services Department to represent the Regional Healthcare Partnership regions[10]

• Four members that are licensed or formerly licensed medical professionals with experience treating opioid-related harms, with one member appointed by each of the governor, lieutenant governor, state attorney general, and speaker of the Texas House of Representatives[11]

• Two members employed by a hospital district, with one member appointed by each of the governor and state attorney general[12]

• One member who is a member of a law enforcement agency and has experience with opioid-related harms, appointed by the governor[13]

• The comptroller or comptroller’s designee, a nonvoting member who serves as the Council’s presiding officer[14]

The Council’s current members are listed here.

Appointment Considerations: In making appointments of regional members, the Commissioner of Texas’ Health and Human Services Department must select members from a list of qualified candidates provided by the governing bodies of eligible counties and municipalities.[15] In making appointments of the non-regional (i.e., statewide) members, the governor, lieutenant governor, state attorney general, and speaker of the Texas House of Representatives must “coordinate to ensure that the membership of the council reflects, to the extent possible, the ethnic and geographic diversity of this state.”[16]

Terms: All Council members serve staggered two-year terms ending on February 1 of each year, and members may serve for no more than two consecutive terms.[17]

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 Texas 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?

Not applicable.

Citations

1. Tex. Gov't Code Secs. 403.503(a); 403.506(d), 403.508(a). See also Texas Opioid Abatement Fund Council and Settlement Allocation Term Sheet, Exhibit A. May 13, 2020. The Opioid Abatement Fund Council was “established to ensure that money recovered by this state through a statewide opioid settlement agreement is allocated fairly and spent to remediate the opioid crisis in this state by using efficient and cost-effective methods that are directed to regions of this state experiencing opioid-related harms.” Tex. Gov't Code Sec. 403.503(a). ↑

2. Tex. Gov’t Code Sec. 403.509(a)(1). See also Texas Opioid Abatement Fund Council and Settlement Allocation Term Sheet, Exhibit A Sec. II(A)(1). May 13, 2020. Decisions or strategies must be approved by at least four regional Council members and four non-regional (i.e., statewide) Council members. Tex. Gov’t Code Sec. 403.509(c). See also Texas Opioid Abatement Fund Council and Settlement Allocation Term Sheet, Exhibit A Sec. II(A)(2). May 13, 2020. ↑

3. Tex. Gov’t Code Sec. 403.509(a)(3)-(4). See also Texas Opioid Abatement Fund Council and Settlement Allocation Term Sheet, Exhibit A Sec. II(D). May 13, 2020. ↑

4. Tex. Gov’t Code Sec. 403.509(a)(5). ↑

5. Tex. Gov’t Code Sec. 403.509(a)(6). See also Texas Opioid Abatement Fund Council and Settlement Allocation Term Sheet, Exhibit A Sec. II(F). May 13, 2020. ↑

6. Tex. Gov’t Code Sec. 403.509(a)(2), (b). See also Texas Opioid Abatement Fund Council and Settlement Allocation Term Sheet, Exhibit A Sec. II(D)(3). May 13, 2020. ↑

7. Texas Opioid Abatement Fund Council and Settlement Allocation Term Sheet, Exhibit A Sec. I(C)(2)(i). May 13, 2020 (“The Council shall hold at least four regular meetings each year” and “abide by state laws relating to open meetings and public information, including Chapters 551 and 552 of the Texas Government Code”) and Tex. Gov't Code Sec. 403.504(c) (“The council is subject to Chapters 551 [Open Meetings law, codified at Tex. Gov't Code Sec. 551.001 to .146] and 552 [Public Information law, codified at Tex. Gov’t Code Sec. 552.001 to .376]”). ↑

8. “The process involves the consistent application of standards and procedures to produce a fair, equitable, and objective evaluation of grant applications, based on the evidence-based opioid abatement strategies developed by the council.” 34 Tex. Admin Code. Sec. 16.200(12). See also 34 Tex. Admin Code. Sec. 16.200(13) (defining “[p]eer review panel” to mean “[a] group of experts in the field of opioid abatement who are selected to conduct peer review of grant applications”). ↑

9. 34 Tex. Admin. Code Sec. 16.208(c)(1)-(4) (“Peer review”). ↑

10. Tex. Gov’t Code Sec. 403.503(b)(1). See also Texas Opioid Abatement Fund Council and Settlement Allocation Term Sheet, Exhibit A Sec. I(A)(2). May 13, 2020 (these appointees are intended ”to ensure dedicated regional, urban, and rural representation on the Council”). ↑

11. Tex. Gov’t Code Sec. 403.503(b)(2). See also Texas Opioid Abatement Fund Council and Settlement Allocation Term Sheet, Exhibit A Sec. I(A)(1). May 13, 2020. ↑

12. Tex. Gov’t Code Sec. 403.503(b)(3)-(4). See also Texas Opioid Abatement Fund Council and Settlement Allocation Term Sheet, Exhibit A Sec. I(A)(1). May 13, 2020. ↑

13. Tex. Gov’t Code Sec. 403.503(b)(5). ↑

14. Tex. Gov’t Code Sec. 403.503(b)(6). But see Texas Opioid Abatement Fund Council and Settlement Allocation Term Sheet, Exhibit A Sec. I(A)(1)(c). May 13, 2020 (“The Governor will appoint the Chair of the Council as a non-voting member. The Chair may only cast a vote in the event there is a tie of the membership.”) ↑

15. Tex. Gov’t Code Sec. 403.503(c). More specifically, counties and municipalities that “(1) brought a civil action for an opioid-related harm against a released entity; (2) released an opioid-related harm claim in a statewide opioid settlement agreement; and (3) are located within the regions for which the member is being appointed.” Id. ↑

16. Tex. Gov’t Code Sec. 403.503(d). ↑

17. Texas Opioid Abatement Fund Council and Settlement Allocation Term Sheet, Exhibit A Sec. I(B). May 13, 2020. Note that for the first term, two statewide and two regional members will serve for a 3-year period. Id. ↑