15% Local Share
Where do these monies live?
The 15% local share is initially deposited into the state’s greater Opioid Abatement Trust Fund,[1] then allocated directly to participating cities and counties according to Exhibit B of Texas’ Settlement Allocation Term Sheet.[2] Nonparticipating subdivisions’ amounts are reallocated “equitably” among participating subdivisions.[3]
Note: Texas’ allocations of settlement funds between its three shares are often settlement-specific.[4] See Distribution of Opioid Settlement Proceeds for more information.
What can this share be spent on?
Aside from attorneys’ fees and other limited exceptions,[5] this share must be spent by local governments to “address opioid-related harms in [their] communities” consistent with the opioid remediation uses described in the national settlement agreement’s (non-exhaustive) Exhibit E,[6] which includes prevention, treatment, harm reduction, recovery, and other strategies.
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.[7]
Is this share attached to an explicit bar against supplantation?
No, supplantation is not prohibited. Like most states, Texas does not explicitly prohibit supplantation uses of its opioid settlement funds. This means that the 15% state 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
Tex. Gov’t Code Sec. 403.506(a) (“The opioid abatement trust fund is a trust fund established outside of the state treasury”) and Sec. 403.507(b)(2) (“Of money obtained under a statewide opioid settlement agreement … 85 percent shall be deposited into the fund”). See also Opioid Settlements at a Glance. Texas Opioid Abatement Fund Council (OAFC). Texas Comptroller website. Accessed August 27, 2024 (“Of the total amounts received from statewide opioid settlement agreements, 15 percent is deposited to the Opioid Abatement Account and 85 percent is deposited to the Opioid Abatement Trust Fund (Trust Fund) held at the Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company”). ↑
Tex. Gov’t Code Sec. 403.506(c)(1) (“The trust company shall … distribute to counties and municipalities to address opioid-related harms in those communities an amount equal to 15 percent of the total amount of money obtained under a statewide opioid settlement agreement and distributed to the fund and the account under Section 403.507”) and Texas Opioid Abatement Fund Council and Settlement Allocation Term Sheet (Global Settlement Allocation Term Sheet) B.1-2 (“Allocation of Settlement Proceeds”). May 13, 2020. Accessed August 27, 2024. ↑
Global Settlement Allocation Term Sheet B.4 (“If a Subdivision for any reason is excluded from a specific settlement, the allocation percentage for that Subdivision shall be redistributed as directed by the settlement document, and if not specified, equitably among the participating Subdivisions”). ↑
See Tex. Gov’t Code Sec. 403.507(c) (“For the purposes of a statewide opioid settlement agreement in relation to a bankruptcy plan for a released entity, money is distributed in accordance with the bankruptcy plan”). ↑
Global Settlement Allocation Term Sheet C.4 (describing set aside for an attorneys’ fee-related backstop fund: “the funds to be deposited in the Texas Opioid Fee and Expense Fund shall be 9.3925% of the combined Texas Political Subdivision and Texas Abatement Fund portions of each payment (annual or otherwise) to the State of Texas for that settlement, plus expenses from the National Fund”) and C.5 (“If the National Fund share to the Texas Political Subdivisions is insufficient to cover the guaranteed 9.3925%, … Texas Political Subdivisions shall recover up to 12.5% of the Texas Political Subdivision Share to make up any difference”) and Distributor Settlement Agreement I.SS (“Qualifying expenditures may include reasonable related administrative expenses”). ↑
Tex. Gov’t Code Sec. 403.506(c)(1) (“The trust company shall … distribute [15%] to counties and municipalities to address opioid-related harms in those communities”). See also Funds Disbursements. OAFC. Texas Comptroller website. Accessed August 27, 2024 (“Exhibit E - List of Opioid Remediation Uses (PDF) is a settlement document that contains a non-exhaustive list of Opioid Remediation Strategies that can guide states and political subdivisions in the spending of settlement funds”). See also Distributor Settlement Agreement I.SS (“Exhibit E provides a non-exhaustive list of expenditures that qualify as being paid for Opioid Remediation”). ↑
Tex. Gov’t Code Sec. 403.506(c)(1) (“The trust company shall … distribute [15%] to counties and municipalities to address opioid-related harms in those communities”); Funds Disbursements (Eligible Uses of Opioid Abatement Funds). OAFC. Texas Comptroller website. Accessed August 27, 2024 (“Other than statute requiring spending the funds to address opioid-related harms in the community, political subdivisions may use their discretion to spend their allocated share of the funds”). See e.g., Raquel Torres. San Antonio targets $909K from opioid settlements to reduce overdoses. San Antonio Report. May 10, 2024. Accessed August 27, 2024 (“Here’s how Metro Health plans to use the $909,000: $434,000 will be used for substance use outreach and community capacity building initiatives; $175,000 for harm reduction supplies and Narcan kits; $150,000 for targeted provider education to address stigma for pregnant people with addiction or in recovery. Only $100,000 will go to medical treatment for street outreach clients. Metro Health also plans to use $50,000 to create a substance use resource portal”; “Metro Health plans to partner with the research-focused Addiction Research Institute, Bexar County, Center for Health Care Services, Corazon Ministries, San Antonio Nexus Connection, St. Luke Baptist Church and the Texas Harm Reduction Alliance”). ↑
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