Ways and Means Committee approves resolution to join opioid manufacturer settlements; amount and restrictions not yet known

The Ways and Means Committee voted Sept. 11 to approve a resolution authorizing the county to participate in opioid settlement agreements with a list of smaller manufacturers and to allow the chairman to execute necessary documents to receive settlement payments. The county attorney asked the committee to approve the resolution but said details remain uncertain. The county attorney (name not specified) told the committee, “We do not yet know. We do not know how much money would we be receiving, from these various manufacturers. If you would like more information, we could go into a brief executive session.” The committee voted in favor of the resolution without asking for an executive session. Committee members and staff did not provide a fiscal estimate or say whether the settlement payments would carry restrictions on their use. The county attorney added, “We also do not know if there is any restrictions on, the use of the funding at this time either.” Legislator Haley moved the resolution; the motion was seconded and carried by the committee. The committee did not record an estimated payout amount, a timetable for receipt, nor conditions on eligible spending in the public discussion held during the meeting. The resolution directs county officials to accept and execute participation agreements to receive any settlement payments that result from the class‑action settlements; it does not set an appropriation or specify programmatic uses. Any further decisions about accepting funds, budgeting them, or imposing spending restrictions would require subsequent actions by the board or staff.