Where do these monies live?

The Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund holds 50% of New Jersey’s opioid settlement funds.[1]

What can this share be spent on?

With limited exceptions,[2] this share must be spent on the approved uses described in Exhibit A of New Jersey’s MOA,[3] which is identical to the national settlement agreements’ Exhibit E, Schedule B (“Approved Uses”) and includes prevention, harm reduction, treatment, recovery, and other strategies.[4] State law also includes a non-exhaustive list of “evidence-based or evidence-informed practices or strategies” that largely derive from the national settlement agreements’ Exhibit E, Schedule B.[5] Reimbursement uses of opioid settlement funds are specifically prohibited statewide.[6]

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

New Jersey Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund Advisory Council guides, Department of Human Services decides. The New Jersey Department of Human Services (DHS) ultimately decides specific expenditures for this share after consulting its Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund Advisory Council.[7] In allocating funds, DHS must “consider equitable access for underserviced communities Statewide.”[8]

DHS retains the power to direct settlement monies to “other State departments.”[9] In February 2024, the Governor announced DHS’s decision to direct $95 million to programs that will be administered by the Departments of Human Services, Health, and Children and Families over the next two to three years.[10]

Is this share attached to an explicit bar against supplantation?

Yes, supplantation is prohibited. New Jersey state law explicitly prohibits supplantation uses of state and local opioid settlement funds.[11] This means that New Jersey’s opioid settlement funds must be spent in ways that supplement — rather than replace (or “supplant”) — existing resources.

Yes (public reporting required). View the state’s and subdivision’s annual spending reports .[12] New Jersey law requires DHS to publicly report “details of allocations made” using funds appropriated from the Opioid Recovery and Remediation Fund.[13]

Visit OpioidSettlementTracker.com’s for an updated collection of states’ and localities’ available expenditure reports.

In March 2024, the Attorney General’s office established the Office of Alternative and Community Responses (OACR) to serve as the Department of Law and Public Safety’s (DLPS) lead entity “with respect to recovery and treatment services for substance use disorders.”[14] The OACR’s Opioid Prevention and Response Bureau (OPRB) will serve as DLPS’s point of contact “for discussions involving the use of settlement funds.”[15]

Citations

1. (“All Opioid Funds shall be divided with 50% directly to the State (‘State Share’) and 50% directly to the Participating Local Governments (‘Local Government Share’). N.J. Stat. Sec. 26:2G-39(b) (“Any moneys received by any State department pursuant to a national opioid litigation settlement subject to this act shall be transferred into the [Opioid Recovery and Remediation] [F]und,” and “moneys paid to counties or municipalities shall not be considered to be part of the State’s share of moneys received as a result of a national opioid litigation resolution”). ↑

2. N.J. Stat. Sec. 26:2G-39(c)(1)(b) (describing “payment of attorneys’ fees, costs, and related litigation expenses related to the national opioid litigation resolution” as an approved use of Fund monies); N.J. Stat. Sec. 26:2G-39(e)(15) (describing “[a]dministrative expenses, subject to limits imposed by any national opioid litigation resolution” as an approved use of Fund monies); and (acknowledging exception to requirement for spending on approved purposes as to “administrative expenses . . . and counsel and litigation fees,” capping administrative expenses at 5% of the “State Share,” inclusive of trustee expenses). ↑

Where do these monies live?

New Jersey’s local share is distributed to its 262 participating counties, cities, townships, and boroughs,[1] which include all of its 21 counties.[2]

What can this share be spent on?

With limited exceptions,[3] this share must be spent on the approved uses described in Exhibit A of New Jersey’s MOA,[4] which is identical to the national settlement agreements’ Exhibit E, Schedule B (“Approved Uses”) and includes prevention, harm reduction, treatment, recovery, and other strategies.[5] State law also includes a non-exhaustive list of “evidence-based or evidence-informed practices or strategies” that largely derive from the national settlement agreements’ Exhibit E, Schedule B.[6] Reimbursement uses of opioid settlement funds are specifically prohibited statewide.[7]

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

Local governments decide autonomously. Decisionmakers for the counties, cities, townships, and boroughs will ultimately decide for themselves how to spend their monies on approved uses.[8] Each county is required by state law and New Jersey’s MOA to establish a “County Advisory Council” to provide input, advice, and recommendations on the use of its funds for approved purposes,[9] and municipalities may request input, advice, and recommendations from their County Advisory Councils on uses of their funds as well.[10]

According to a state FAQ, “[c]ounty departments, divisions, or agencies that include the County Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Director will serve as the lead agenc[ies] responsible for county abatement funds and reporting responsibilities.”[11]

The may, but is not required to, recommend local share expenditures and to coordinate with County Advisory Councils “as the [Advisory Council] chairperson deems appropriate."[12]

Yes, supplantation is prohibited. New Jersey state law explicitly prohibits supplantation uses of state and local opioid settlement funds.[13] This means that New Jersey’s opioid settlement funds must be spent in ways that supplement — rather than replace (or “supplant”) — existing resources.

Yes (public reporting required). View the state’s and subdivision’s annual spending reports . New Jersey’s MOA requires local governments to annually report its expenditures, including funding recipients, amount disbursed on approved purposes, and spending on administrative expenses. These reports are provided to the state and must be made public as well.[14]

Visit OpioidSettlementTracker.com’s for an updated collection of states’ and localities’ available expenditure reports.

Not applicable.

1. provides that this share will be distributed according to the percentages in of New Jersey’s agreement, but other sections of the MOA better clarify municipalities’ ability to receive monies directly and optionally transfer their share to their containing counties. See . See also (providing that the “Local Government Share shall be paid by check or wire transfer directly from the Trustee to the appropriate account identified by the Participating Local Government Entity whether it be a County or Municipality”). ↑

2. The participation of all of New Jersey’s counties eliminates the need for non-participating county “regions” of participating cities anticipated by MOA . See . New Jersey Office of the State Comptroller website. Accessed September 1, 2024 (“The State will receive half of the funds and the other half will be allocated directly to 262 local government entities—all 21 counties and those municipalities with populations above 10,000)”). See also . New Jersey Attorney General press release. May 2, 2023. Accessed September 1, 2024 (announcing that “all 21 counties and all 241 municipalities” had signed onto agreements with CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, Teva, and Allergan) and

Here are the entities that ultimately decide how each of New Jersey’s opioid settlement shares are spent:

• 50% state share:

• 50% local share: local officials for counties, cities, townships, and boroughs