Advisory Bodies
Has the state established an advisory body for settlement funds?
No. Washington has not established an advisory body specifically to inform spending of funds from the 50% state share.[1] However, those involved with Washington’s State Opioid and Overdose Response Plan (SOORP) provide recommendations across numerous funding streams, including opioid settlement funds.[2]
Is the state advisory body required to include member(s) with lived and/or living experience?
Not applicable.
What is the overall membership of the state advisory body?
Not applicable.
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?
Yes, but regional only. Local governments in Washington are not required to establish their own opioid settlement advisory bodies, but local governments within each of Washington’s nine Allocation Regions are required by the One Washington Memorandum of Understanding Between Washington Municipalities to establish a regional opioid abatement council (regional OACs) (see, e.g., King County’s Opioid Abatement Council).[3]
A regional OAC, which may be a new or preexisting regional body,[4] must be composed of representatives from participating counties, cities, and towns within the region that have “work or educational experience pertaining to one or more Approved Uses.”[5] Regional OACs are not required to include any member(s) with lived and/or living experience.
Each regional OAC must:
Oversee the distribution of settlement funds by participating local governments within the region,[6] including reviewing annual expenditure reports to ensure funds were used for approved purposes[7]
Report and make publicly available opioid settlement fund distributions and expenditures by the region’s OAC and/or its participating local governments,[8] including via a centralized public dashboard that must be updated at least annually[9]
Hear participating local governments’ complaints regarding misuse of settlement funds within the region or noncompliance with reporting requirements[10]
Collect outcome-related data from participating local governments to evaluate the use of settlement funds “if necessary”[11]
Oversee the approval, distribution, and administration of settlement funds where a participating local government opted to forego their direct allocation[12]
Regional OACs are also empowered to take “remedial action” against participating local governments determined to be misusing opioid settlement funds or otherwise failing to comply with the terms of the One Washington Memorandum of Understanding Between Washington Municipalities.[13] This includes withholding future settlement funds or requiring the repayment of misspent funds.[14]
What else should I know?
Not applicable.
Citations
The state has established a “National Opioid Abatement Trust Subcommittee” of the State Opioid & Overdose Response Plan, but it appears the subcommittee was created solely to satisfy requirements related to the Mallinckrodt bankruptcy. See The State of Washington’s Notice of Government Participation Mechanism Pursuant to Section 5 of the National Abatement Trust II Distribution Procedures. August 12, 2022. Only one independent meeting of the subcommittee is listed on the Washington Healthcare Authority’s website. See National Opioid Abatement Trust (NOAT) Subcommittee March 31, 2023 Agenda (includes list of committee members, presentation on the committee). Accessed September 1, 2024. ↑
See Washington opioid settlement frequently asked questions (FAQ), Question 6 and Question 13. Washington State Health Care Authority. January 6, 2023. Accessed September 1, 2024. ↑
One Washington Memorandum of Understanding Between Washington Municipalities (WA Municipalities MOU) Secs. C(2) (“Each Allocation Region must have an OAC whose composition and responsibilities shall be defined by Regional Agreement or as set forth in Section C.4”) and C(4)(h) (“Prior to any distribution of Opioid Funds within the Allocation Region, The Participating Local Governments must establish an Opioid Abatement Council (OAC) to oversee Opioid Fund allocation, distribution, expenditures and dispute resolution”). Accessed September 1, 2024. ↑
WA Municipalities MOU Sec. C(4)(h). Accessed September 1, 2024. ↑
WA Municipalities MOU Sec. C(4)(i) (furthermore, “[t]he method of selecting members, and the terms for which they will serve will be determined by the Allocation Region’s Participating Local Governments”). Accessed September 1, 2024. ↑
WA Municipalities MOU C(4)(j)(i). Accessed September 1, 2024. ↑
WA Municipalities MOU C(4)(j)(ii). Accessed September 1, 2024. ↑
WA Municipalities MOU C(4)(j)(iv). Accessed September 1, 2024. Local governments must report “to the OAC and mak[e] publicly available all decisions on Opioid Fund allocation applications, distributions and expenditures” as a condition of receiving a direct payment of settlement funds. Id. at C(4)(g)(vi). ↑
WA Municipalities C(4)(j)(v). Accessed September 1, 2024 (a dashboard or “other repository for the publication of expenditure data). ↑
WA Municipalities MOU C(4)(j)(vii). Accessed September 1, 2024. ↑
WA Municipalities MOU C(4)(j)(vi). Accessed September 1, 2024. ↑
WA Municipalities MOU C(4)(j)(iii) Accessed September 1, 2024 (“In the case where Participating Local Governments chose to forego their allocation of Opioid Funds: (i) Approving or denying proposals by Participating Local Governments or community groups to the OAC for use of Opioid Funds within the Allocation Region. (ii) Directing the Trustee to distribute Opioid Funds for use by Participating Local Governments or community groups whose proposals are approved by the OAC. (iii) Administrating and maintaining records of all OAC decisions and distributions of Opioid Funds”). ↑
WA Municipalities MOU C(8). Accessed September 1, 2024. ↑
WA Municipalities MOU C(8) (“Such remedial action is left to the discretion of the OAC”). Accessed September 1, 2024. ↑
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