15% Commonwealth Share

Where do these monies live?

The legislatively established Opioid Settlement Restricted Account holds the state government’s 15% share of opioid settlement funds.[1]

What can this share be spent on?

With limited exceptions,[2] monies in the state’s Restricted Account must be spent on the on the uses described in the national settlement agreement’s (non-exhaustive) Exhibit E,[3] which includes prevention, harm reduction, treatment, recovery, and other strategies.

Any beneficiary of the Trust may also petition the court overseeing the Trust to “allow spending on an item of abatement not contained in Exhibit E, provided such spending is deemed by the Court to reduce incidence or rate of opioid addiction and overdose deaths in the Commonwealth.”[4]

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

State legislature decides. The Pennsylvania General Assembly ultimately decides specific appropriations of this share.[5]

For the July 2023 to June 2024 fiscal year, the legislature appropriated $13.575 million to the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) for “costs associated with opioid use disorder treatment and abatement programs.”[6] DDAP set aside $18 million for [a substance use disorder] practitioners student loan repayment program and $6.5 million as grants to expand community-based drop-in centers.[7]

Is this share attached to an explicit bar against supplantation?

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

No (neither public nor intrastate reporting required). Opioid settlement expenditures are not officially published in a centralized location for this share.

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

Not applicable.

1. (“The Commonwealth Account shall consist of Fifteen (15) % of the Trust Funds to be distributed and shall be paid to the Commonwealth for deposit to the Opioid Settlement Restricted Account as established by 72 P.S. § 1792-A.1”), (“The Trust Funds designated to the Commonwealth Account shall be distributed from the Trust to the Commonwealth’s Opioid Settlement Restricted Account”), and 72 Pa. Stat. Ann. Sec. 1792-A.1(b) (“Money received by county, municipal or local governments and agencies, including district attorneys, arising from claims concerning the marketing, manufacturing, sale, promotion, distribution, prescribing or dispensing of opioids shall not be deemed funds of the Commonwealth and shall not be deposited into the account”). ↑

2. ) (“After the payment by the Trust of Attorneys’ Fees and Expenses as described in Section IX, Exhibit 4 … , the Trust Funds shall be divided into three accounts: The Commonwealth Account, the County Abatement Account and the Litigating Subdivision Account”), (“The Board of Trustees may use up to 1% of the Trust funds to retain such persons or firms to manage the investment, and distributions”), (“The amount of the Pennsylvania Opioid Fee Fund shall not exceed 6.6% of all base and incentive payments governmental entities will receive”). See also . Pennsylvania Opioid Misuse and Addiction Abatement Trust (PA Abatement Trust). Accessed August 25, 2024. (“Distributions for attorneys’ fees and expenses under Paragraph IX and Exhibit 4 of the Trust Order totaled $28,167,022”; “The Board plans to use income generated by the Trust Funds to pay for administrative services needed for Trust operations. No fees were paid to Wilmington Trust during the Reporting Period”) and