15% Local Share
Where do these monies live?
The 15% local share is allocated to participating counties, cities, and towns according to Exhibit G of the national settlement agreements.[1]
Non-participating subdivisions’ amounts are reallocated to the Abatement Fund,[2] and Vermont’s counties may also redirect their shares to the Fund.[3]
What can this share be spent on?
With limited exceptions,[4] this share must be spent on the uses described in the national settlement agreement’s (non-exhaustive) Exhibit E,[5] which includes prevention, harm reduction, treatment, recovery, and other strategies.
Who ultimately decides how to spend this share (and how)?
Local governments decide autonomously. Decisionmakers for the participating counties, cities, and towns will ultimately decide for themselves how to spend their monies on Exhibit E uses.[6]
Is this share attached to an explicit bar against supplantation?
No, supplantation is not prohibited. Vermont does not explicitly prohibit supplantation uses of funds from its 15% local share. This means that the 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
Vermont Attorney General’s Executive Summary of Opioid Distributors and J&J Settlements (AG Executive Summary) I. September 14, 2021. Accessed August 28, 2024 (“15% to state subdivisions to be used to abate the opioid crisis”). AG Executive Summary III.A(2) (“Exhibit G provides the calculation of the relative allocation of funds available to the respective subdivision as a portion of the 15% subdivision settlement bucket” and “Vermont subdivisions with populations under 10,000 will be allocated modest sums as part of the subdivision bucket. If they sign a release, they will receive those sums directly. If they do not sign a release, the sums allocated to them will go to the Abatement Fund”). See also 18 V.S.A. Sec. 4771 (“While an opioid litigation settlement may designate a portion of the monies for local or State use, this subchapter applies to only monies from abatement accounts funds”). ↑
See, e.g., BrownGreer Distributor Settlement Agreement Allocation Notice to Vermont, Sec. I. October 11, 2022. Accessed August 28, 2024 (“Pursuant to … the … Distributor Settlement Agreement, the identified Non-Participating Subdivisions are ineligible to receive their allocated shares for the current Payment Year. The Directing Administrator has added the amounts allocated to these ineligible Subdivisions to the Abatement Accounts Fund”)... ↑
AG Executive Summary III.A(2) (“12 out of 14 Vermont counties may receive a portion of the subdivision funds despite Vermont’s unique county governance structure, which is limited to the operation of county courts. Those funds may be contributed to the Abatement Fund so long as the side judges sign releases and directs those funds accordingly.”). Attorney General 2023 Memo. March 23, 2023. Accessed August 28, 2024 (“There are also options for the money allocated to the 12 Vermont counties given Vermont’s unique county governance structure. Those funds may be contributed to the Abatement Fund so long as the assistant judges sign on and execute the form provided for that purpose”). Note that the AG Executive Summary applies to the Distributor and Janssen Settlements, whereas the AG 2023 Memo applies to “second wave” settlements (Teva, Allergan, CVS, Walmart, and Walgrens). ↑
See AG Executive Summary IV (“[A]pproved purposes can be found at Exhibit E to the [Settlement Agreements], which is attached to this memo”) and Distributor Settlement Agreement I.SS (“Exhibit E provides a non-exhaustive list of expenditures that qualify as being paid for Opioid Remediation. Qualifying expenditures may include reasonable related administrative expenses”). ↑
AG Executive Summary I (“15% to state subdivisions to be used to abate the opioid crisis”), III(a)(2) (“[A] subdivision will use any monies received for Opioid Remediation Uses … listed in Exhibit E”), and IV (“[A]pproved purposes can be found at Exhibit E”). See also Distributor Settlement Agreement I.SS (“Exhibit E provides a non-exhaustive list of expenditures that qualify as being paid for Opioid Remediation.”). ↑
AG Executive Summary I (“15% to state subdivisions to be used to abate the opioid crisis”) and III(a)(2) (“[A] subdivision will use any monies received for Opioid Remediation Uses … listed in Exhibit E”). See also 18 V.S.A. Sec. 4771 (“While an opioid litigation settlement may designate a portion of the monies for local or State use, this subchapter applies to only monies from abatement accounts funds”). ↑
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