> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://www.opioidsettlementguides.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://www.opioidsettlementguides.com/kentucky/decision-making/50-local-share.md).

# 50% Local Share

### Where do these monies live?

Kentucky's local government share is distributed to its “counties, consolidated local governments, urban-county governments, and cities.”\[1] Funds are distributed according to a pre-determined formula.\[2] The Kentucky Association of Counties (KACo) recommends that local governments keep these monies in a separate special account/fund.

### What can this share be spent on?

With limited exceptions,\[3] each local government receiving funds from this share must spend at least 85% of the funds on the uses described in state law, KRS 15.291(5).\[4] This state law outlines:

* 28 categories of permissible forward-looking abatement projects.\[5] These categories vary widely and include, for example, projects to provide access to opioid-abatement-related housing (e.g., supportive housing) and “evidence-informed treatment, recovery support, harm reduction, or other appropriate services to individuals with OUD and co-occurring SUD/MH issues” who are justice-involved.
* 3 categories of permissible reimbursement expenses: outpatient and residential treatment services, emergency response, and naloxone administration.\[6]

Funds may also be used for "\[a]ny other project deemed appropriate for opioid-abatement purposes by the \[Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission].”\[7]

### Who ultimately decides how to spend this share (and how)?

Local governments decide autonomously (but must report on spending). Though decision-makers for the counties, consolidated local governments, urban-county governments, and cities decide for themselves how to spend their share,\[8] they must submit annual certifications to the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission (KYOAAC) with detailed information on settlement spending.\[9]

{% hint style="warning" %}
This guide describes the default rules for who ultimately decides how to spend this share and how. In many states, however, the state legislature can enact legislation that allocates settlement funds outside of these established processes. For example, since 2022, the Kentucky state legislature has directly appropriated $10.5 million annually from the state’s Opioid Abatement Trust Fund to support a behavioral health conditional dismissal program in select counties.\[14]
{% endhint %}

### Are supplantation uses prohibited for this share?

**No, supplantation is not prohibited.** Like most states, Kentucky does not explicitly prohibit supplantation uses of its opioid settlement funds. This means that counties, cities, and towns may spend their shares in ways that replace (or “supplant”) — rather than supplement — existing resources.

### Can I see how this share has been spent?

**Yes (no public reporting required, only intrastate).** Visit the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission’s [Impact Dashboard](https://kyoaac.ky.gov/dashboard) and [Community Funding Dashboard](https://kyoaac.ky.gov/dashboard/counties), which provide information on expenditures of both state and local opioid settlement funds. The dashboards include grant amounts, recipients, county, funding source, and category of funding. The KYOAAC requires that local governments submit an annual certification report that includes detailed information about local settlement spending.\[13] KYOAAC compiles information from these reports for publication on its public dashboards, though this is not required.

Visit OpioidSettlementTracker.com’s [Everything Table](https://www.opioidsettlementtracker.com/everything) for the most up-to-date information on states’ and localities’ available expenditure reports.

### What else should I know?

According to a [June 2026 report](https://kypolicy.org/kentucky-opioid-settlement-funds/) from the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, over 90% of opioid settlement funds received by local governments in Kentucky remained unspent at the end of fiscal year 2025.\[15]

### Citations

1. Ky. Rev. Stat. Secs. 15.293(4)(a) (“The \[opioid abatement trust] fund shall not consist of the remaining fifty percent (50%) of all proceeds received by the Commonwealth, counties, consolidated local governments, urban-county governments, and cities of the Commonwealth”), (4)(b) (“To the extent that the negotiation class distribution metrics would result in a city receiving a total of less than $30,000 in any individual settlement, judgment, or bankruptcy proceeding, the payment is instead made to the county, consolidated local government, or urban-county government in which that city is located”). ↑
2. Ky. Rev. Stat. Sec. 15.293(4)(b) (“paid to counties, consolidated local governments, urban-county governments, and cities of the Commonwealth in accordance with the negotiation class distribution metrics established in In re National Prescription Opiate Litigation, MDL No. 2804, Case No. 1:17-md-02804, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio unless precluded by order of a court of competent jurisdiction in connection with any settlement, judgment, or bankruptcy proceeding”). This formula is based on factors such as population, amount of prescription opioid sales, number of people with pain reliever use disorder, and number of overdose deaths. ↑
3. *See* Ky. Rev. Stat. Secs. 15.295 (addressing local government feed fund). ↑
4. Ky. Rev. Stat. Secs. 15.293(4)(c)(2)(a), 15.295(4) (“No less than eighty-five percent (85%) of the proceeds received by each county, consolidated local government, urban-county government, or city of the Commonwealth shall go toward abatement of the opioid epidemic in those communities”). ↑
5. Ky. Rev. Stat. Sec. 15.291(5)(b). ↑
6. Ky. Rev. Stat. Sec. 15.291(5)(a). ↑
7. Ky. Rev. Stat. Sec. 15.291(5)(b)(29). State law also allows settlement funds to be used for any project that “\[m]eets the criteria included in any settlement agreement or judgment between the parties listed in KRS 15.293(3)(a).” Ky. Rev. Stat. Sec. 15.291(b)(28). This means that funds from both the Commonwealth Share and Local Share may be spent for any purpose consistent with “Exhibit E” of the settlement agreements. ↑
8. Ky. Rev. Stat. Secs. 15.293(4)(b), (4)(c)(2). ↑
9. 40 Ky. Admin. Regs. 9:020, Sec. 2. Failure to submit the required certifications or other noncompliance may result in a local government being required to reimburse the Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission and/or have future funding withheld. Ky. Rev. Stat. Sec. 15.293(4)(c)(2)(d); 40 Ky. Admin. Regs. 9:020, Sec. 3(2). However, the basis for reimbursement is unclear since funds in this share are distributed directly to local governments and not otherwise controlled by KYOAAC.. ↑
10. \[Reserved]. ↑
11. \[Reserved]. ↑
12. \[Reserved]. ↑
13. Ky. Rev. Stat. Sec. 15.293(4)(c)(2)(a); 40 Ky. Admin. Regs. 9:020, Sec. 2. *See also* [Frequently Asked Questions - Local Reporting](https://kyoaac.ky.gov/local-reporter-faq). Kentucky Opioid Abatement Advisory Commission website. Accessed September 21, 2026. ↑
14. 2022 Ky. Acts ch. 230, Sec. 13, as amended by 2026 Ky. Acts ch. 122, Sec. 3. ↑
15. Ashley Spalding and Patience Martin. [Kentucky Local Governments Have Spent Only 10% of Opioid Settlement Dollars Despite Continued Need](https://kypolicy.org/kentucky-opioid-settlement-funds/). Kentucky Center for Economic Policy. June 29, 2026.


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