# Advisory Bodies

### **Has the state established an advisory body for settlement funds?**

**No.** Iowa has not established an advisory body to inform uses of funds from the 50% state share.

### **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 Iowa are not required to establish opioid settlement advisory bodies. However, localities may choose to establish advisory councils that include member(s) with lived and/or living experience to help ensure that settlement spending reflects community priorities. For example:

* Jasper County created an Opioid Settlement Committee to accept funding applications and recommend expenditures to the county’s board of supervisors.\[1]
* Polk County’s [strategic plan](https://www.polkcountyiowa.gov/media/pvxijjxf/polk-co-osf-strategic-plan.pdf#page=17) for opioid settlement funds indicates that the county will “explore” the creation of an “advisory group made up of \[people with lived experience]” in 2024 “to ensure that \[people with lived experience] are involved in the preliminary stages of settlement planning.”\[2]

### **What else should I know?**

**Not applicable.**

### **Citations**

1. [Jasper County Opioid Settlement Funds](https://www.jasperia.org/health/opioid_settlement/). Jasper County, Iowa website. Accessed September 1, 2024. ↑
2. [Polk County Opioid Settlement Funds FY2024-26 Strategic Plan](https://www.polkcountyiowa.gov/media/pvxijjxf/polk-co-osf-strategic-plan.pdf#page=17)*.* Polk County Behavioral Health & Disability Services. Accessed September 1, 2024. ↑