County staff presented a proposed resolution July 31 to participate in the tentative national settlement of opioid litigation involving Purdue Pharma and related parties. The settlement amount cited in the presentation was $7.4 billion nationally. Staff said the State of Georgia is expected to receive approximately $126 million to be distributed over several years, and the state will determine how funds are allocated to local governments. The county must adopt the resolution to join the settlement.

Why it matters: opioid-settlement proceeds are restricted for abatement activities such as prevention, treatment and recovery services. Carroll County has used prior opioid funds for similar outreach, sheriff or treatment-related initiatives; staff said the expected state program should follow comparable grant/abatement requirements.

Action: commissioners placed the resolution on the consent agenda and approved it as presented during the work session. Staff said final local allocations will be determined by the State of Georgia and that county staff will follow state grant requirements when distributing funds locally.