Can I provide input on spending?

• 55% local share: Up to each locality (not required). Local governments are not required to seek public input on uses of their shares. However, each may choose to seek such input. For example, Eugene’s city council invites members of the public to request to speak at its meetings and email written testimony to mayorcouncilandcitymanager@eugene-or.gov,[1] while Salem has allowed members of the public to submit comments on a livestreamed work session regarding opioid settlement allocations in spring 2024.[2] Watch for other opportunities to weigh in on city and county spending decisions, such as city council meetings and town halls.

• 45% Opioid Settlement Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Fund share: Yes (required). Oregon state law requires the Opioid Settlement Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Board (OSPTR Board) to “receive testimony and input from the community” at its public meetings and “establish a process for the public to provide written comments and proposals at each meeting of the board.”[3] The OSPTR Board includes a dedicated public comment period at each of its meetings, typically towards the end of each meeting, and is required to hold at least four public meetings each year but has consistently met monthly since its inception.[4] Visit the to find upcoming meeting dates and agendas, as well as information about past meetings.[5] You can also submit written comments to the OSPTR Board by emailing and apply for consideration to be appointed to the OSPTR board .

  • Public discussion of annual reports. The also requires the state to host a public meeting to discuss its annual settlement spending report.[6]

It depends. As of September 1, 2024, the state has not established any grant opportunities for the Opioid Settlement Prevention, Treatment and Recovery Fund share. Local governments may create grant programs to distribute funds from the 55% local share. The existence, parameters, and processes for local settlement grant programs will vary by locality, so stay alert for new opportunities. Visit the (OpioidSettlementTracker.com and Legal Action Center) for the most up-to-date information on settlement grant opportunities for community organizations.

• To find updates on the local share, a good starting point is to check the websites for your board of county commissioners, city council, or local health department. You can also refer to the Oregon Health Authority’s page, which includes a "Local vs. State Opioid Settlement Funds" section.

• For updates on the Opioid Settlement Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Fund share, visit the Oregon Health Authority’s (OHA) page and the ’s website, and bookmark the OHA’s feed.

Not applicable.

1. See Alan Torres. . The Register-Guard. May 13, 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024. ↑

2. Public Meeting Calendar (“”). City of Salem website. April 15, 2024. Accessed September 1, 2024. ↑

3. Oregon Laws 2022, Chapter 63, Section 6(5) (“The board shall conduct at least four public meetings in accordance with ORS 192.610 to 192.690 ["Records; Public Reports and Meetings”], which shall be publicized to facilitate attendance at the meetings and during which the board shall receive testimony and input from the community. The board shall also establish a process for the public to provide written comments and proposals at each meeting of the board”). ↑

Yes. Oregon state law establishes the (OSPTR Board) to determine the allocation and use of monies from the 45% Opioid Settlement Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Fund share.[1] The OSPTR Board is required to hold at least four public meetings each year,[2] but it has consistently met monthly since its inception (generally on the first Wednesday of each month).[3] The OSPTR Board is required to receive community input and to operate in compliance with the state’s .[4]

Not necessarily. Oregon state law requires that the OSPTR Board include “[a]n individual who has experienced a substance use disorder or a representative of an organization that advocates on behalf of individuals with substance use disorders”[5] This means that the statutory membership requirements can be satisfied without the inclusion of an individual with lived experience.

The OSPTR Board is an 18-member body with 15 voting members and 3 non-voting members.[6]

Virtually all voting members are ultimately appointed by the governor,[7] with appointments for certain OSPTR Board seats limited to a list of recommended candidates.[8] The 15 voting members include:[9]

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

• 55% local share: local officials for counties and cities

• 45% Opioid Settlement Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Fund share:

This Community Guide will describe how Oregon is spending its opioid settlements and whether Oregon is working to ensure community access to opioid settlement funds. Last revised September 1, 2024.

• [1]

Where do these monies live?

The state’s share is held in the Opioid Settlement Prevention, Treatment and Recovery Fund and continuously appropriated to the Oregon Health Authority (OHA).[1] Starting in 2024, 30% of the Fund is annually allocated to Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes.[2]

Note: This 45% allocation applies to the grand majority, but not all, of Oregon’s opioid settlements.[3]

What can this share be spent on?

In general, and with limited exceptions,[4] this share must be spent on the uses described in the national settlement agreement’s (non-exhaustive) Exhibit E.[5] After a set-aside for a system to collect and publish information about the state’s substance use services,[6] all remaining monies must be spent on statewide and regional programming consistent with the national settlements, including but not limited to a 12-item list of approved expenditures that includes evidence-based or evidence-informed programs to provide connections to care, to address the needs of pregnant and parenting women with opioid use disorders, and to discourage or prevent misuse of opioids.[7]

The Opioid Settlement Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Board has expressed its spending decisions to date using an eight-category list that includes harm reduction and overdose prevention; primary prevention; treatment; recovery; leadership, planning, and coordination; research and evaluation; and emerging issues.[8]

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

Opioid Settlement Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Board decides. The (OSPTR Board), created within the (OHA), ultimately decides specific expenditures for this share.[9]

In determining Fund allocations, the OSPTR Board is required to be “guided and informed” by ​, ongoing evaluations of its own programmatic efficacy, evidence-based and evidence-informed best practices, public input, and equity considerations for underserved populations.[10]

No, supplantation is not prohibited. Like most states, Oregon does not explicitly prohibit supplantation uses of its opioid settlement funds. This means that the “Opioid Settlement Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery Fund” share may be spent in ways that replace (or “supplant”) — rather than supplement — existing resources.

Yes (public reporting required). View the state’s annual reports on the OHA’s page.[11] The state must publish an annual report on use of settlement funds statewide, including the 45% Fund share, each year.[12]

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

Not applicable.

1. Oregon Laws 2022, Chapter 63, Sections 5(1)-(2). (“45% of the Oregon Settlement Funds shall be allocated to the State of Oregon”) and (45% of funds from the Mallinckrodt bankruptcy and additional settlement agreements allocated to the state). ↑

2. . Oregon Health Authority (OHA). Accessed August 24, 2024 (“In January 2024 the OSPTR Board voted to allocate $27.7 million to the nine – this is equivalent to 30% of all funds anticipated this biennium. This 30% set-aside will continue throughout the life of the fund as additional settlement payments are deposited”). ↑

3. See . OHA. Accessed August 24, 2024 (describing Publicis and “[a]dditional restitution funds from Oregon Department of Justice” as “not subject to 55/45% split with subdivisions”). However, the state-local agreement and its subsequent supplement encompass most of Oregon’s opioid settlement funds (describing Publicis and “additional restitution funds” as “not subject to 55/45% split with subdivisions”). ↑

This share is distributed to participating cities and counties according to of Oregon’s state-local agreement.[1] Unless a city opts to receive its monies directly, this share is distributed to its county.[2]

Note: This 55% allocation to localities applies to the grand majority, but not all, of Oregon’s opioid settlements.[3]

Excepting administrative expenses and attorneys’ fees,[4] this share must be spent on the uses described in the national settlement agreement’s (non-exhaustive) ,[5] which includes prevention, harm reduction, treatment, recovery, and other strategies.

Local governments decide autonomously. Decisionmakers for the counties and cities will ultimately decide for themselves how to spend their monies on Exhibit E uses.[6] Any amounts not spent or committed within five years of receipt are transferred to the Opioid Settlement Prevention, Treatment and Recovery Fund.[7]

No, supplantation is not prohibited. Like most states, Oregon does not explicitly prohibit supplantation uses of its opioid settlement funds. This means that the 55% local share may be spent in ways that replace (or “supplant”) — rather than supplement — existing resources.