70% State Share

Where do these monies live?

The Opioid Abatement and Remediation Fund holds South Dakota’s state share of opioid settlement funds.[1]

What can this share be spent on?

This share must be spent “exclusively to abate and alleviate the opioid crisis,”[2] and attorneys’ fees and reimbursement uses are explicitly prohibited for this share.[3] South Dakota defines “Approved Use(s)” as uses that “fall within” or are “otherwise consistent with” Exhibit A of its MOA.[4]

Exhibit A of South Dakota’s MOA largely mirrors the national settlement agreement’s Exhibit E, Schedule B,[5] which includes treatment, prevention, harm reduction, and other strategies.

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

Opioid Advisory Committee recommends, Department of Social Services decides. The South Dakota Department of Social Services (DSS) ultimately decides specific expenditures for this share after consulting the recommendations of the Opioid Advisory Committee.[6] In making its recommendations, the Advisory Committee is required to create a process for receiving input from the state’s localities, provider organizations, and communities.[7] DSS must then make a “good-faith effort” to incorporate the Advisory Committee’s recommendations into the state’s annual budget and publicly provide a written explanation to the Advisory Committee of any substantial deviations from the recommendations.[8]

In 2023, DSS established a grant program to distribute 25% of this share to community organizations that partner with local governments.[9] The grant program is managed by the DSS Division of Behavioral Health and is just one of DSS’s investments from this share.[10]

Is this share attached to an explicit bar against supplantation?

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

Can I see how this share has been spent?

Yes (public reporting required). South Dakota’s MOA requires the state to publish an annual report that includes expenditures from this share, including any grants awarded (recipients, disbursement terms, and projects funded) online.[11] View annual reports here.[12]

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

What else should I know?

Not applicable.

Citations

1. S.D. Codified Laws Sec. 34-20B-116(1). South Dakota Opioid Settlement Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) IV.A, ↑
2. MOA V. See also MOA III.B (“The Statewide Share must be used only for (1) Approved Uses within the State of South Dakota or (2) grants for Approved Uses within the State of South Dakota”). ↑
3. MOA V (providing that the state’s attorneys’ fees will not be drawn from the “Statewide Share”) and MOA III.A (“Regardless of allocation, all Opioid Funds must be used in a manner consistent with the Approved Purposes definition. No Opioid Funds will be used as restitution for past expenditures. Rather, Opioid Funds must be used in a present and forward-looking manner”). ↑
4. MOA I.A (“‘Approved Use(s)’ means purposes related to opioid abuse treatment, prevention, and recovery programs that fall within, or otherwise consistent with, the list of uses set out in Exhibit A, attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference”). ↑
5. The differences are superficial and non-substantive. Note that the national settlements provide for administrative expenses as an approved use, which South Dakota may incorporate but does not state expressly. See Distributor Settlement Agreement I.SS (“Exhibit E provides a non-exhaustive list of expenditures that qualify as being paid for Opioid Remediation. Qualifying expenditures may include reasonable related administrative expenses”). ↑
6. S.D. Codified Laws Sec. 34-20B-116 (requiring the legislature to assign Opioid Abatement and Remediation Fund expenditures to the Department of Social Services), MOA III.B (describing the Department of Social Services as the “lead agency responsible for distributing and using the Statewide Share in a manner that in its judgment will best address the opioid crisis within the State”), and MOA IX.D (requiring the Advisory Committee to provide recommendations to DSS on “Statewide Share” uses). ↑
7. MOA IX.C. ↑
8. MOA IX.D. ↑
9. DSS launches program to address opioid use and misuse within the State. DSS Press Release. October 30, 2023. Accessed August 26, 2024. (“The Department of Social Services (DSS) recently launched the South Dakota Opioid Settlement Fund Community Grant Program”). Funding Opportunities and Grant Information. DSS. Accessed August 26, 2024. (“Opioid Settlement Fund Community Grant Program DSS utilizes 25% of the statewide share to support South Dakota Organizations efforts to abate and alleviate the impacts of the opioid crisis and co-occurring substance use challenges in South Dakota communities”). Opioid Settlement Fund Community Grant Program FAQs. DSS. Accessed August 26, 2024 (“Applicants are limited to South Dakota-based organizations,” and “partnering with a participating local government is required for applications to this program”). Review a list of grantees from the Spring 2024 grant cycle here. ↑
10. See, e.g., DSS Opioid Settlement Update. DSS. August 8, 2024. Accessed August 26, 2024. ↑
11. MOA VI.F. ↑
12. See, e.g., Federal Opioid Funding Annual Report. South Dakota Department of Health and South Dakota Department of Social Services. 2023. Accessed September 1, 2024. ↑