Has the state established an advisory body for settlement funds?
No. Wisconsin has not established an advisory body to inform spending of opioid settlement funds.
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?
No (up to each locality). Local governments in Wisconsin 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.[1]
What else should I know?
Not applicable.
Citations
See, e.g., Eau Claire Countyâs , which was formed in 2022, and includes three citizen members, two of whom have lived experience. . Eau Claire County website. Accessed September 1, 2024. â
This Community Guide will describe how Wisconsin is spending its opioid settlements and whether Wisconsin is working to ensure community access to opioid settlement funds. Last revised September 1, 2024.
70% Local Share
30% State Share
Ultimate Decisionmaker
Local officials for cities and counties
Decision-making Process
Localities decide autonomously
The submits an expenditure proposal to the Wisconsin state legislatureâs Joint Committee on Finance for approval.
The Joint Committee can take no action on the proposal (effectively approving it), decline to approve it and schedule a meeting to discuss, or unilaterally change proposed expenditures.
Decision Making
Here are the entities that ultimately decide how each of Wisconsinâs opioid settlement shares are spent:
70% local share: local officials for cities and counties
70% Local share: Up to each locality (not required). Local governments are not required to seek public input on uses of their shares. However, each may choose to seek such input. For example:
Rock County formed an Opioid Settlement workgroup in 2022, comprised of members from public health, human services, county administration, and law enforcement. The working group administered an opioid settlement survey, held public listening sessions, and conducted key informant interviews to inform the development of recommendations for the use of opioid settlement funds.[1] The were then presented to the Rock County Board of Supervisors in the same year.
Public Health Sauk County surveyed the community in fall 2023to gather input on use of opioid settlement funds.[2] The full report from the survey may be found .
30% State share: Depends on future programming (not required). Though the state has not established recurring opportunities for the public to provide input on uses of its share, it has sought public input in the past. To gather information and input from citizens and stakeholders about opioid settlement spending priorities, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) conducted 12 listening sessions in January 2022, launched a public survey in early 2023, and co-hosted a series of in December 2023 and February 2024.[3]
Can I apply for grants?
Yes. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services has made grants available from the 30% state share in the past.[4] Local governments may create grant programs to distribute funds from the 70% local share. The existence, parameters, and processes for local settlement grant programs will vary by locality, so stay alert for new opportunities. Visit the (OpioidSettlementTracker.com and Legal Action Center) for the most up-to-date information on settlement grant opportunities for community organizations.
Where do I go for updates?
To find updates on the local share, a good starting point is to check the websites for your county board of supervisors, city council, or local health departments (see, e.g., , , , , and ).[5]
For updates on the state share, visit the Wisconsin Department of Health Servicesâ website.
What else should I know?
Not applicable.
Citations
. Rock County Opioid Settlement Working Group. September 8, 2022. Accessed September 1, 2024 (see methodology described on ) â
Sauk County Public Health. January 17, 2024. â
.Wisconsin Department of Health Services. April 1, 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024. â
With limited exceptions,[2] this share must be spent on the uses described in the national settlement agreementâs (non-exhaustive) Exhibit E,[3] which includes prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and other strategies.
Who ultimately decides how to spend this share (and how)?
Department of Health Services proposes, state legislature decides. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) must develop an expenditure proposal and submit it to the Wisconsin state legislatureâs Joint Committee on Finance.[4] If the Joint Committee on Finance takes no action within 14 working days, then DHS can proceed with expenditures based on its plan.[5] However, the Joint Committee on Finance may opt instead to hold a meeting to review the proposal and make changes, and DHS can only spend funds once the plan is approved.[6]
Is this share attached to an explicit bar against supplantation?
No, supplantation is not prohibited. Wisconsin does not explicitly prohibit supplantation uses of opioid settlement funds from its state share. This means that the state share may be spent in ways that replace (or âsupplantâ) â rather than supplement â existing resources.
Can I see how this share has been spent?
Yes (public reporting not required, only intrastate). Though this share is technically subject only to intrastate reporting of spending plans to the Joint Committee on Finance,[7] DHS publishes amounts approved for each fiscal year and quarterly progress reports for its funded opportunities on its Dose of Reality: Opioid Settlement Fundswebsite.
Visit OpioidSettlementTracker.comâs Expenditure Report Tracker for an updated collection of statesâ and localitiesâ available expenditure reports.
What else should I know?
In April 2024, the legislature exercised its right to overrule DHSâ recommendations for state share spending.[8] The Joint Committee on Finance has exercised its power to âblock and reviseâ DHSâ plan for fiscal years 2023 and 2024,[9] and news coverage describes how â[i]n rewriting the first annual plan for $31 million, submitted in 2022 for the 2023 fiscal year, the finance committeeâs Republican majority directed money to law enforcement agencies and to some specific nonprofits not previously named in the DHS plan.â[10]
Wis Stat Sec. 165.12(3)(a); 2022 MOU Sec. A.5 and 2023 MOU Sec. 5 (state share and the âAdditional Restitution Amountâ must be âutilized only or purposes identified as approved uses for abatementâ in the settlements); Distributor Settlement Agreement I.SS (âExhibit E provides a non-exhaustive list of expenditures that qualify as being paid for Opioid Remediation. Qualifying expenditures may include reasonable related administrative expensesâ). â
Wis Stat Sec. 165.12(3)(a) (âMoneys payable to the state ⌠shall be allocated to the department of health services for expenditure for purposes that comply with any settlement agreement or order of the courtâ) and I.SS (âExhibit E provides a non-exhaustive list of expenditures that qualify as being paid for Opioid Remediationâ). See also and (state share and the âAdditional Restitution Amountâ must be âutilized only or purposes identified as approved uses for abatementâ in the settlements). â
Wis. Stat. Sec. 165.12(3)(a). See, e.g., Department of Health Services (DHS). April 1, 2024. Accessed September 2, 2024. . DHS press release. April 2, 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024. â
Wis. Stat. Sec. 165.12(3)(a). â
Wis. Stat. Sec. 165.12(3)(a)-(b). State law details the sequence: âIf the cochairpersons of the joint committee on finance do not notify the department within 14 working days after the date of the submittal under this paragraph that the committee has scheduled a meeting for the purpose of reviewing the expenditure proposal, the department may expend the moneys as described in the proposal. If, within 14 working days after the date of the submittal under this paragraph by the department, the cochairpersons of the committee notify the department that the committee has scheduled a meeting for the purpose of reviewing the expenditure proposal, the department may expend the moneys only upon approval by the committee.â Wis. Stat. Sec. 165.12(3)(a). The same process applies if DHS seeks to modify its spending plan during a fiscal year. Wis. Stat. Sec. 165.12(3)(b). See, e.g., . DHS. Last revised August 23, 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024 ("We submitted our plan for this funding to the Joint Committee on Finance April 1, 2024 ⌠The Joint Committee on Finance modified our plan. The modified plan was approved May 7, 2024â). â
Wis. Stat. Sec. 165.12(3)(a)-(b). â
. April 22, 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024. â
Erik Gunn. . Wisconsin Examiner. May 6, 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024 (âDuring that two-week window that committee can block the plan and revise it, which it has done for the first two opioid settlement plans for the 2023 and 2024 fiscal years. The committeeâs Republican co-chairs announced April 22 that the 2025 DHS plan had been blocked, but didnât say whyâ). â
Erik Gunn. . Wisconsin Examiner. May 6, 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024 â
This share is distributed directly to the stateâs 87 litigating cities and counties according to Exhibit A of the Wisconsin Local Government MOU.[1] Each are required to set up a separate fund to hold their opioid settlement proceeds that may not be comingled with other monies of the local government.[2] Local governments may allocate their shares to other political subdivisions and can combine their shares with one another.[3]
What can this share be spent on?
Up to 20% of this share may be spent as attorneysâ fees.[4] Excepting administrative costs,[5] the remaining funds must be spent on the uses described in the national settlement agreementâs (non-exhaustive) ,[6] which includes prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and other strategies.
Who ultimately decides how to spend this share (and how)?
Local governments decide autonomously. Decisionmakers for the counties and cities 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?
Yes, supplantation is prohibited. Wisconsin state law explicitly prohibits local governments from using opioid settlement funds to substitute for budgeted funds from other sources.[8] This means that local governments in Wisconsin may only use their opioid settlement funds in ways that supplement â rather than replace (or âsupplantâ) â existing resources.
Can I see how this share has been spent?
Up to each locality (no public reporting required, only intrastate). Opioid settlement expenditures are not officially published in a centralized location for this share. Local governments must submit an annual accounting of their expenditures to the Wisconsin Department of Justice and the Joint Committee on Finance,[9] but there is no additional requirement to publish these materials online.
Visit OpioidSettlementTracker.comâs for an updated collection of statesâ and localitiesâ available expenditure reports.
What else should I know?
Not applicable.
Citations
Wis. Stat. Sec. 165.12(2)(c) (âThe settlement agreement or any document that effectuates the settlement identifies 70 percent of the settlement proceeds as payable to local governments in the state that are parties in the opiate litigationâ). and (âOpioid Settlement Proceeds shall be allocated as follows: (i) 30% to the State of Wisconsin (âState Shareâ); and (ii) 70% to Local Governments (âLG Shareâ). and ((describing direct allocation by formula). Wisconsin Local Government Memorandum of Understanding (Local MOU) . The 2022 MOU and Local MOU apply to the Distributor and Janssen settlements only. The 2023 MOU applies to the Walgreens, Walmart, CVS, Teva, and Allergan settlements. See also . Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS). Last revised August 23, 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024 (referring to the 87 local governments that participated in the litigation). â
Wis. Stat. Sec. 165.12(4)(b)(1). â
Wis. Stat. Sec. 165.12(4)(b)(4) (power to redirect funds to another locality so long as there is an agreement requiring the recipient locality to use the funds for approved abatement purposes) and Sec. 165.12(4)(b)(5) (âLocal governments may combine moneys from their segregated accounts if each local government conforms to the reporting requirement under [Wis. Stat. Sec. 165.12(4)(c)]â). â
and (restricting all funds to approved uses â[e]xcept for Opioid Settlement Funds expended in payment of attorney fees as provided in Wis. Stat. Sec. 165.12(6) [Responsibilities for Attorney Fees]â); Wis Stat. Sec. 165.12(6) (âIf a separate fund created in a settlement agreement for the opiate litigation is insufficient to pay the entire amount of attorney fees and expenses owed by local governments, a local government may use a portion of the amounts payable to local governments ⌠to supplement amounts owed by the local government for attorney fees and expenses.â) and (âPursuant to Wis. Stat. Sec. 165.12(6) a sum up to but in no event exceeding an amount equal to 20% of the total proceeds from the Settlement Agreements attributable to Local Governments shall be deposited into the Attorney Fees Account. ⌠Any excess amounts remaining in the Attorney Fee Fund after funds have been allocated and paid to counsel shall revert back to the Local Governments and the escrow agent shall allocate such sums to Local Governments based on the allocation set forth on Exhibit A, which assigns each Local Government a percentage shareâ). See also and (requiring local governments to report specified information to the Attorney General and Joint Committee on Finance if they use any portion of settlement funds directly allocated to them for attorney fees). â
Wis. Stat. Sec. 165.12(4)(b)(2) (local governments to spend their shares âsolely for purposes identified as approved uses for abatement the settlement agreementâ) and I.SS (âExhibit E provides a non-exhaustive list of expenditures that qualify as being paid for Opioid Remediation. Qualifying expenditures may include reasonable related administrative expensesâ). â
Wis. Stat. Sec. 165.12(4)(b)(2) (âA local government may expend moneys of the segregated account solely for purposes identified as approved purposes for abatement in the settlement agreementâ); and (local share to be spent on âpurposes identified as approved uses for abatement in a Settlement Agreementâ outside of attorneysâ fees); (âA minimum of 80% of the Settlement proceeds attributable to Local Governments shall be paid to each Local Governmentâs segregated Opioid Abatement Account, which may be expended only for approved uses for opioid abatement as provided in the Settlement Agreements and supporting Memorandums of Understandingâ); I.SS (âExhibit E provides a non-exhaustive list of expenditures that qualify as being paid for Opioid Remediation. Qualifying expenditures may include reasonable related administrative expensesâ). â
Wis. Stat. Sec. 165.12(4)(b)(1) (âMoneys in the segregated account are considered moneys of the local governmentâ). See also and (describing direct allocation by formula). See, e.g. Milwaukee Independent. June 3, 2024. Accessed September 2, 2024 (describing countyâs five-year strategy for spending its share). â
Wis. Stat. Sec. 165.12(4)(b)(3) (âA local government may not use moneys from the segregated account to substitute for budgeted moneys from the other sourcesâ). â
