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 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]

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.

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 .[12]

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

Not applicable.

1. S.D. Codified Laws Sec. 34-20B-116(1). , ↑

2. . See also (“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. (providing that the state’s attorneys’ fees will not be drawn from the “Statewide Share”) and (“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”). ↑