Advisory Bodies

Has the state established an advisory body for settlement funds?

Yes. The South Dakota Opioid Settlement Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) creates a 22-member Advisory Committee to receive public input, consider proposals for opioid abatement strategies, and provide formal recommendations to the Secretary of the Department of Social Services on the use of settlement funds in the state share.[1] The Advisory Committee’s bylaws detail its responsibilities, which include:[2]

• Establishing eligibility criteria for distributing monies from the state share, including distribution by grant.

• Establishing criteria to allocate the state share among the state’s five behavioral health regions and political subdivisions.

• Establishing criteria regarding core strategies and approved uses of state share funds.

• Receiving grant applications and recommending grant award processes, recipients, and amounts.

• Establishing processes and criteria for evaluating uses of state share funds, including outcome reporting.

• Establishing processes to receive public input on opioid use disorder, co-occurring substance use and mental health disorders, and associated abatement needs and responses.

The Advisory Committee is required to meet at least twice annually and formally recommend expenditures at least once annually.[3]

Is the state advisory body required to include member(s) with lived and/or living experience?

No. Neither South Dakota’s MOA nor the Advisory Committee bylaws require the Advisory Committee to include individuals with lived and/or living experience.

What is the overall membership of the state advisory body?

The 22-member Advisory Committee includes six state representatives, six local government representatives, five expert representatives, and five at-large representatives.[4] Specifically, the Advisory Committee includes:[5]

• A representative of the South Dakota Department of Health.

• A representative of the South Dakota Department of Social Services.

• A representative from the South Dakota Board of Pharmacy.

• A representative from the South Dakota Board of Medical & Osteopathic Examiners.

• A representative of the state Attorney General.

• A member of the South Dakota legislature.

• City/county representatives (or their designees) from each of the state’s five behavioral health regions, recommended by the mayors of Rapid City, Sioux Falls, Pierre, Aberdeen, Brookings, and Yankton.[6]

• Five expert representatives drawn from fields such as public health, pharmacology, epidemiology, emergency medicine, behavioral health, and recovery.

• Five at-large representatives “who bring a perspective related to opioid abatement.”

Advisory Committee members serve three-year terms and may serve more than one term.[7] Current Advisory Committee members are listed on the South Dakota Department of Health’s website.

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 South Dakota 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

1. South Dakota Opioid Settlement Memorandum of Agreement Sec. IX. ↑
2. Bylaws of the South Dakota Opioid Abuse Advisory Committee Art. II. ↑
3. South Dakota Opioid Settlement Memorandum of Agreement Sec. IX(C)-(D); Bylaws of the South Dakota Opioid Abuse Advisory Committee Art. IV. ↑
4. South Dakota Opioid Settlement Memorandum of Agreement Sec. IX(B). ↑
5. South Dakota Opioid Settlement Memorandum of Agreement Sec. IX(B). ↑
6. Bylaws of the South Dakota Opioid Abuse Advisory Committee Art. III. ↑
7. South Dakota Opioid Settlement Memorandum of Agreement Sec. IX(A). See also Bylaws of the South Dakota Opioid Abuse Advisory Committee Art. III. ↑