Advisory Bodies

Has the state established an advisory body for settlement funds?

Yes. The Opioid Epidemic Response Advisory Council (OERAC) was created by state law in 2019 and predates the first national opioid settlements with Distributors and Janssen,[1] from which funds were distributed starting in 2022.[2] The OERAC’s mandate — to “develop and implement a comprehensive and effective statewide effort to address the opioid addiction and overdose epidemic in Minnesota” — extends beyond investments funded by opioid settlements.[3] The Minnesota Department of Human Services provides staff and administrative support.[4]

The OERAC selects grant proposals and funding amounts,[5] and is required by state law to focus on four general goals: prevention and education, training on treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), the expansion and improvement of care for OUD, and the “development of measures to assess and protect” patients’ access to “legitimately need[ed] prescription pain medications.”[6] Its specific responsibilities include:

• Reviewing local, state, and federal initiatives related to education, prevention, and treatment related to OUD[7]

• Establishing priorities and recommending specific projects and initiatives to the Commissioner of Human Services[8]

• Making sure that available funding, including opioid settlement funds, are aligned with other sources of state and federal funding to maximize coordination and impact[9]

• Supporting the development of an “administrative and organizational framework” for the sustainable and ongoing allocation of opioid settlement funds from the 25% state share[10]

• Consulting with the Commissioners of Human Services, Health, and Management and Budget to develop outcomes to measure the effectiveness of allocated funds[11]

• Consulting “relevant stakeholders,” including localities, to review reporting requirements and recommend any changes necessary “to ensure that the required reporting accurately measures progress in addressing the harms of the opioid epidemic”[12]

• Reviewing localities’ resulting reports, data, and performance measures[13]

• Meeting individually with Minnesota’s 11 federally recognized tribal nations at least annually to “collaborate and communicate on shared issues and priorities”[14]

Meetings of the OERAC are required to occur at least quarterly,[15] but historically have taken place monthly, with both virtual and in-person attendance options.

Is the state advisory body required to include member(s) with lived and/or living experience?

Yes. The OERAC is required by state law to include “one member who is in opioid addiction recovery.”[16]

What is the overall membership of the state advisory body?

The Opioid Epidemic Response Advisory Council's (OERAC) current members are listed here. The composition of its membership is defined by state law to include the Commissioners of Human Services, Health, and Corrections (or their designees) as non-voting, ex officio members, and 20 voting members, over half of whom are appointed by the Commissioner of Human Services:[17]

• Two (2) members of the Minnesota House of Representatives appointed by House leadership[18]

• Two (2) members of the Minnesota Senate appointed by Senate leadership[19]

• One (1) member appointed by the Board of Pharmacy

• One (1) physician appointed by the Minnesota Medical Association

• One (1) addiction psychiatrist appointed by the Minnesota Society of Addiction Medicine

• One (1) member appointed by the Minnesota Hospital Association

• One (1) member currently serving with an ambulance service as an EMT or paramedic appointed by the Minnesota Ambulance Association

• Eleven (11) members appointed by the Commissioner of Human Services, who must coordinate these appointments to provide “geographic, racial, and gender diversity” and must also ensure that at least one-third of their appointees live outside the Twin Cities seven-county metropolitan area. “[T]o the extent practicable, at least one … must represent a community of color disproportionately affected by the opioid epidemic.”[20]

  • One (1) member representing state-licensed opioid treatment, sober living, or substance use disorder programs

  • One (1) member representing professionals who provide alternative pain management therapies (e.g., acupuncture or massage)

  • One (1) member representing nonprofit organizations whose work addresses the opioid overdose epidemic[21]

  • One (1) judge or law enforcement officer representing state courts

  • One (1) member of the public living in Minnesota and “in opioid addition recovery”

  • Two (2) members who are tribal representatives (Ojibwe tribes and Dakota tribes)

  • One (1) member who represents an urban American Indian community

  • One (1) member who lives in Minnesota and “is suffering from chronic pain, intractable pain, or a rare disease or condition”

  • One (1) mental health advocate representing people with mental illness

  • One (1) member representing a local health department

Voting members serve 3-year terms.[22]

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 Minnesota are not required to establish opioid settlement advisory bodies. However, localities may independently choose to establish advisory councils that include members with lived and/or living experience to help ensure that settlement spending reflects community priorities (e.g., Beltrami County’s Opioid Steering Committee, Polk County’s Opioid Settlement Advisory Council, St. Louis County’s Opioid Remediation Settlement Advisory Committee).[23]

What else should I know?

Not applicable.

Citations

1. 2019 MN HF 400. Codified at Minn. Stat. Ann. Sec. 256.042. ↑
2. See OpioidSettlementTracker.com’s Global Settlement Tracker for more information. ↑
3. Minn. Stat. Ann. Sec. 256.042, Subd. 1(a). ↑

4. Minn. Stat. Ann. Sec. 256.042, Subd. 2(e). ↑

5. Minn. Stat. Ann. Sec. 256.042, Subd. 4(b). ↑

6. Minn. Stat. Ann. Sec. 256.042, Subd. 1(a)(1)-(4). ↑

7. Minn. Stat. Ann. Sec. 256.042, Subd. 1(b)(1). ↑

8. Minn. Stat. Ann. Sec. 256.042, Subd. 1(b)(2)-(3). ↑

9. Minn. Stat. Ann. Sec. 256.042, Subd. 1(b)(4). ↑

10. Minn. Stat. Ann. Sec. 256.042, Subd. 1(b)(6). ↑

11. Minn. Stat. Ann. Sec. 256.042, Subd. 1(b)(5) ↑

12. Minn. Stat. Ann. Sec. 256.042, Subd. 1(b)(8) ↑

13. Minn. Stat. Ann. Sec. 256.042, Subd. 1(b)(7). ↑

14. Minn. Stat. Ann. Sec. 256.042, Subd. 1(b)(9). ↑

15. Minn. Stat. Ann. Sec. 256.042, Subd. 2(d). ↑

16. Minn. Stat. Ann. Sec. 256.042, Subd. 2(a)(11). ↑

17. Minn. Stat. Ann. Sec. 256.042, Subd. 2(a)(1)-(18). See also Minn. Stat. Ann. Sec. 256.042, Subdiv. 2(a) (“appointed by the commissioner of human services except as otherwise specified”). ↑

18. One is appointed from the majority party by the Speaker of the House. The other is appointed from the minority party by the House minority leader. One of these members must represent a district outside the Twin Cities seven-county metropolitan area and the other must represent a district inside the Twin Cities seven-county metropolitan area. The minority leader is responsible for ensuring this geographic requirement is met. Minn. Stat. Ann. Sec. 256.042, Subd. 2(a)(1). ↑

19. One is appointed from the majority party by the Senate Majority Leader. The other is appointed from the minority party by the Senate minority leader. One of these members must represent a district outside the Twin Cities seven-county metropolitan area and the other must represent a district inside the Twin Cities seven-county metropolitan area. The minority leader is responsible for ensuring this geographic requirement is met. Minn. Stat. Ann. Sec. 256.042, Subd. 2(a)(2). ↑

20. Minn. Stat. Ann. Sec. 256.042, Subd. 2(b). ↑

21. Minn. Stat. Ann. Sec. 256.042, Subd. 2(a)(8) (“the commissioner's initial appointment being a member representing the Steve Rummler Hope Network, and subsequent appointments representing this or other organizations”). ↑

22. Minn. Stat. Ann. Sec. 256.042, Subd. 2(c). ↑

23. See also, e.g., Brown County’s Opioid Settlement Advisory Council, Cass County’s Opioid Settlement Fund Committee of the Board, Dakota County’s Opioid Response Advisory Committee, Otter Tail County’s Opioid Settlement Advisory Council, Southwest Health and Human Services’ Opioid Settlement Funding Advisory Council (“A collaboration between "Lyon, Murray, Pipestone, Redwood and Rock Counties”), Wright County’s Opioid Settlement Advisory Council. ↑