Community Access

Can I provide input on spending?

• 80% Statewide Abatement share: Yes (required). The Rhode Island Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee includes a dedicated public comment period at its meetings,[1] and is required by the state’s MOU to work with the Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) to “establish a process for receiving input from Rhode Island’s communities, provider organizations, and cities and towns.”[2] Visit the Advisory Committee’s website to find upcoming meeting dates. Agendas for Advisory Committee meetings must be posted to the Rhode Island Secretary of State’s Open Meetings website at least two business days before each meeting.[3] The Advisory Committee is required by Rhode Island’s MOU to meet at least quarterly but has met more frequently throughout 2023 and 2024.[4] Check out the Advisory Committee’s dedicated open meetings page, including information from past meetings, and view the 2024 meeting schedule here. You can also contact the Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee at [e-mail].

• 20% 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. Watch for opportunities to weigh in on city and county spending decisions, such as city council meetings and town halls.

Can I apply for grants?

Yes. The state has made grant funding available from the 80% Statewide Abatement share in the past.[5] Local governments may create grant programs to distribute funds from the 70% local share. The existence, parameters, and processes for local settlement grant programs will vary by locality, so stay alert for new opportunities. Visit the Opioid Settlement Community Grants Portal (OpioidSettlementTracker.com and Legal Action Center) for the most up-to-date information on settlement grant opportunities for community organizations.

Where do I go for updates?

• For updates on the Statewide Abatement share, visit the Rhode Island Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee’s website and Prevent Overdose RI’s (PORI) Opioid Settlement page.[6]

• To find updates on the local share, a good starting point is to check the websites for your city/town council or local health department.

What else should I know?

Not applicable.

Citations

1. This is typically toward the end of the agenda. See Rhode Island Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee (“Meeting Materials”). Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services website. Accessed September 1, 2024. See, e.g., the Advisory Committee’s June 24, 2024 Meeting Agenda. Accessed September 1, 2024. See also Rhode Island Memorandum of Understanding Between the State and Cities and Towns Receiving Opioid Settlement Funds (RI State-Local MOU) Sec. V(E)(2) (“Meetings of the Advisory Committee shall be public, open meetings consistent with the Open Meetings Act, Chapter 46 of Title 42 of the Rhode Island General Laws”); R.I. Gen. Laws Sec. 42-46 et seq. (excluding explicit requirement that all public meetings include public comment, providing merely with R.I. Gen. Laws Sec. 42-46-6 that "[n]othing within this chapter shall prohibit any public body, or the members thereof, from responding to comments initiated by a member of the public during a properly noticed open forum even if the subject matter of a citizen’s comments or discussions were not previously posted, provided such matters shall be for informational purposes only and may not be voted on except where necessary to address an unexpected occurrence that requires immediate action to protect the public or to refer the matter to an appropriate committee or to another body or official, and that “[n]othing contained in this chapter requires any public body to hold an open-forum session to entertain or respond to any topic nor does it prohibit any public body from limiting comment on any topic at such an open-forum session”). For more information on the requirements of Rhode Island’s Open Meetings Act, see Know Your Rights: Open Meetings in RI. ACLU of Rhode Island. Last updated March 2018. Accessed September 1, 2024. ↑

2. RI State-Local MOU Sec. V(E)(3). ↑

3. See R.I. Gen. Laws Sec. 42-46-6(b) (“Public bodies shall give supplemental written public notice of any meeting within a minimum of forty-eight (48) hours, excluding weekends and state holidays in the count of hours, before the date.”) ↑

4. RI State-Local MOU Sec. V(E)(1). As of September 1, 2024, the Advisory Committee had met five (5) times in 2024. In 2023, the Advisory Committee held nine (9) meetings. See Rhode Island Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee (“Meeting Materials”). Rhode Island Executive Office of Health and Human Services website. Accessed September 1, 2024. ↑

5. See, e.g., Opioid Settlement Impact and Recovery Grants. Rhode Island Foundation website. Accessed September 1, 2024. See also Executive Office of Health and Human Services and the Rhode Island Foundation award $3.25 million in grants to address opioid use. EOHHS press release. May 4, 2023. Accessed September 1, 2024. ↑

6. “This website is an initiative of the Rhode Island Governor’s Overdose Task Force, in collaboration with the RI Department of Health (RIDOH), the RI Department of Behavioral Healthcare and Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals (BHDDH), the Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS), and the People, Place & Health Collective at Brown University’s School of Public Health.” Prevent Overdose RI (see What is this site?). Accessed September 1, 2024. ↑