Advisory Bodies
Has the state established an advisory body for settlement funds?
Yes. In addition to requiring the creation of the Montana Opioid Abatement Trust to hold 70% of the state’s settlement funds, Montana’s MOU requires the creation of an Advisory Committee whose members (also referred to as “Operating Trustees”) oversee the Trust.[1] The Advisory Committee is responsible for:
Developing its own bylaws and other governing documents after collaboration with local, regional, and state legal counsel, to “minimiz[e] red tape and maximiz[e] the efficient flow of funds to abate the opioid problem”[2]
Facilitating collaboration among the state, regions, and local governments to “shar[e] information related to abating the opioid crisis in Montana”[3]
Developing written guidelines to receive input from the State, its Abatement Regions, local governments, and others “regarding how the opioid crisis is affecting their jurisdictions or communities and their respective abatement needs”[4]
Review proposed disbursements of Trust monies to Abatement Regions to determine whether they qualify as an approved purpose[5]
The Advisory Committee may:
Approve funding from the Trust “for statewide programs, innovation, research, and education”[6]
Provide “professional advice” to Abatement Regions “when requested”[7]
Require local governments and other entities that receive funds from the Trust to provide outcome data, which the Advisory Committee then may publish[8]
The Advisory Committee must meet at least quarterly,[9] and its meetings must be open to the public.[10]
Is the state advisory body required to include member(s) with lived and/or living experience?
No. The Advisory Committee is not required to include a member with lived and/or living experience. The MOU does provide that one of the Committee’s ten members “may be, but is not required to be, a family member of a person who had or has suffered from opioid use disorder.”[11]
What is the overall membership of the state advisory body?
The Advisory Committee includes ten voting members split evenly between state and local government members.[12] You can view a list of current Advisory Committee members — or “Operating Trustees” — here.[13]
Appointing Entities. Advisory Committee members are appointed by the Metropolitan Abatement Regions (three members), Multi-County Abatement Regions (two members), director of the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services (two members), and state attorney general (three members).[14] Appointing entities may develop their own procedures for appointing and removing Advisory Committee members.[15]
Qualifications. At least one Advisory Committee member must be a law enforcement representative from the Montana Department of Justice’s Division of Criminal Investigation and/or Montana Highway Patrol, and one member “may be, but is not required to be,” a family member of a person who had or has suffered from opioid use disorder.[16] All other members must come from the fields of medicine, public health, mental health, or addiction.[17]
Terms: Advisory Committee members are appointed to three-year terms and may serve more than one term.[18]
Executive Director: The Trust’s executive director, appointed by the state attorney general, serves as an ex-officio member who may vote only to break a tie.[19]
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 Montana 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.
What else should I know?
Not applicable.
Citations
Montana Distributors’ and Janssen Opioids Settlement Memorandum of Understanding (“Montana Settlement MOU”), Secs. C(1)-(2). November 26, 2021. See also Declaration of Trust – The Montana Opioid Abatement Trust, Sec. 3.1. August 1, 2022. ↑
Governing documents must contain conflict of interest and dispute resolution provisions. Montana Settlement MOU, Sec. C(13) (November 26, 2021) as modified by the Second Amendment to the November 2021 Memorandum of Understanding. June 15, 2022. Minutes from the Trust’s meeting on November 28, 2023 reveal that a “[r]esolution adopting the Trust Policies and Procedures as presented to the Trustees” was “moved, seconded, and passed unanimously,” but as of September 1, 2024, these documents are not publicly accessible on the Trust’s website. (These policies are not contained in the Trust’s Declaration document, which was signed and dated August 3, 2022.) ↑
Montana Settlement MOU, Sec. C(16). November 26, 2021. ↑
Montana Settlement MOU, Sec. C(12). November 26, 2021. These guidelines “are intended to facilitate prompt access to funds in the Abatement Trust allocated to Participating Abatement Regions and Local Governments pursuant to the percentages listed in Exhibit B of the November 26, 2021 MOU for any Approved Purposes identified in the sole discretion of the Abatement Regions or Local Governments.” Amendment to Montana Distributors’ and Janssen Opioids Settlement Memorandum of Understanding. January 27, 2022. ↑
Montana Settlement MOU, Sec. D(14). November 26, 2021. See also Amendment to Montana Distributors’ and Janssen Opioids Settlement Memorandum of Understanding. January 27, 2022. ↑
Montana Settlement MOU, Sec. D(12). November 26, 2021. ↑
Montana Settlement MOU, Sec. C(15) (“In determining which outcome related data may be required, the Committee shall work with all Parties, Regions, and Local Governments to identify appropriate data sets and develop reasonable procedures for collecting such data sets so that the administrative burden does not outweigh the benefit of producing such outcome related data”). November 26, 2021. ↑
Montana Settlement MOU, Sec. C(6), November 26, 2021; Declaration of Trust – The Montana Opioid Abatement Trust, Sec. 3.8, August 1, 2022. ↑
Montana Settlement MOU, Sec. D(15). November 26, 2021. See also Declaration of Trust – The Montana Opioid Abatement Trust, Sec. 3.6. August 1, 2022. ↑
See Montana Settlement MOU, Sec. C(4). November 26, 2021. ↑
Declaration of Trust – The Montana Opioid Abatement Trust Sec. 3.1. August 1, 2022. ↑
Montana Settlement MOU, Sec. C(3). November 26, 2021. See also Declaration of Trust – The Montana Opioid Abatement Trust, Sec. 3.1. August 1, 2022. Note that the MOU refers to the “Department of Health and Human Services” rather than the Department of Public Health and Human Services. ↑
Declaration of Trust – The Montana Opioid Abatement Trust, Sec. 3.1. August 1, 2022. ↑
Montana Settlement MOU, Sec. C(4). November 26, 2021. See also Declaration of Trust – The Montana Opioid Abatement Trust, Sec. 3.1. August 1, 2022. ↑
Montana Settlement MOU, Sec. C(4). November 26, 2021. It is unclear whether the MOU intends to apply a six-year experience requirement to Advisory Committee members or whether the requirement is specific to the Trust’s executive director. See Id. at Sec. C(9). See also Declaration of Trust – The Montana Opioid Abatement Trust, Sec. 3.1. August 1, 2022. ↑
Montana Settlement MOU, Sec. C(5). November 26, 2021. Initial Advisory Committee members terms are staggered. Minutes from the Advisory Committee’s 4/11/24 meeting include greater detail on current Advisory Committee members’ terms. ↑
Montana Settlement MOU, Secs. C(7), C(10). November 26, 2021. See also Declaration of Trust – The Montana Opioid Abatement Trust, Sec. 3.5. August 1, 2022. ↑
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