15% Local Share

Where do these monies live?

This share is distributed directly to participating cities and counties according to the default allocations in Exhibit G of the national settlements.[1] Amounts for non-litigating municipalities with populations under 30,000 are reallocated to their participating counties.[2]

What can this share be spent on?

This share should spent on the opioid remediation uses described in the national settlement agreement’s (non-exhaustive) Exhibit E,[3] which includes prevention, harm reduction, treatment, recovery, and other strategies. However, the MOA also provides that localities may use these funds to cover attorneys’ fees and litigation costs or as reimbursements for past remediation expenditures,[4] provided that localities report such uses to settlement administrators.[5]

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

Local governments decide autonomously. Decisionmakers for the counties and municipalities will ultimately decide for themselves whether and how to spend their monies on Exhibit E uses.[6]

Is this share attached to an explicit bar against supplantation?

No, supplantation is not prohibited. Tennessee does not explicitly prohibit supplantation uses of settlement funds from its 15% local share. This means that the local share may be spent in ways that replace (or “supplant”) — rather than supplement — existing resources.

Can I see how this share has been spent?

Up to each locality (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 15% Subdivision Fund shall generally be directed to the Subdivisions participating in the Distributor/J&J Settlements pursuant to the default provisions of those agreements, including the allocation of funds for non-litigating municipalities with populations under 10,000 to their respective counties”). ↑

2. (“The default provisions are adjusted for non-litigating municipalities in participating counties that both (1) have populations of 10,000 to 30,000 per the 2019 U.S. Census estimate and (2) have a Subdivision Fund allocation percentage less than 0.5%. The allocations for such municipalities shall be directed to their respective counties if the county is a participating subdivision”). See also . Office of the Attorney General and Reporter. March 2023. Accessed August 26, 2024 (“Whether a municipality qualifies for direct payments is generally dependent on its size and litigating status. For example, all municipalities with populations of 30,000 or more are qualifying municipalities”). ↑