Virginia OAA outlines 2025 budget and legislative changes that expand naloxone access, fund analytics and reshape recovery-residence oversight

The Opioid Abatement Authority told stakeholders in a July 2025 Abatement Academy webinar that recent Virginia legislation and budget actions increased state opioid-abatement funding and made several policy changes affecting naloxone access, recovery residences and workforce rules.

Adam Rosatelli, the OAA’s director of finance, said the Commonwealth’s “core” appropriations — the share of settlement funds held for statewide distribution — rose to $37,000,000 for the fiscal year period covered in the 2025 budget. He reiterated statutory distribution rules: localities receive a direct share and the Commonwealth and OAA receive other shares for statewide programs. “The funds are to be used strictly for opioid abatement and remediation,” Rosatelli said.

Why it matters: the changes affect how cities and counties and state agencies can use settlement dollars, who may receive grants, and which providers and activities are eligible for funding. The OAA’s briefing highlighted specific budget language and bills that will shape implementation at the state and local level.

Key budget and statutory points

- Statutory framework: Rosatelli cited the enabling statute creating the Opioid Abatement Authority in the Code of Virginia (title 2.2, chapter 22, article 12; the presentation referenced §§2.2‑2365–2.2‑2377 and specifically §2.2‑2366 as the creating section). He said the law limits direct recipients of settlement dollars to state agencies and participating political subdivisions (cities and counties that were plaintiffs in the litigation), not towns or nonprofits, and prescribes approved abatement uses.

- Share allocation: Rosatelli described the division of settlement proceeds reflected in statute and the OAA’s budget language: a local direct share (he said “another 30% goes directly to the localities”), and a Commonwealth share placed in the newly created Commonwealth Opioid Abatement and Remediation Fund (created by Senate Bill cited in the presentation). The OAA core appropriation (Commonwealth share) was described as 15% of funds in enabling legislation and by Rosatelli in the webinar materials.

- 2023–25 appropriations and projects: Rosatelli summarized earlier and recent appropriations: initial administrative support and audit-specification work in 2023; larger appropriations and many new bills in 2024; and 2025 appropriations and language that included (select highlights cited by OAA staff): - $37,000,000 in core (Commonwealth) appropriations for opioid-abatement purposes (aggregate core funding referenced for FY25/FY26). - $16,000,000 in core or related appropriations supporting an opioid reversal agent program and $12,400,000 for opioid reversal agents and test kits across the biennium (as described in the presentation). - $4,000,000 for a statewide substance-use-disorder analytics system intended to centralize and layer data for planning and grant decisions. - $2,000,000 to capitalize a jail-based substance-use fund. - Smaller allocations for naloxone distribution, 211 information/referral upgrades, and other programs.

Regulatory and policy changes discussed

- Peer recovery workforce: Budget language (item in the presentation referenced as 2.93(c)) directs the State Board of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) to amend regulations so that individuals completing required supervision hours may be eligible under Medicaid as peer recovery specialist trainees. Rosatelli and the presentation framed this as a workforce-expansion change to allow supervised trainees to bill Medicaid while finishing supervised hours.

- Recovery residence certification and funding: Two budget language items cited (presentation referenced items 2.95 and 2.96) require DBHDS to align recovery support services and recovery residences with ASAM-aligned criteria and to shift certification and funding responsibilities away from the Virginia Association of Recovery Residences (VAR) toward DBHDS certification and monitoring. The OAA described these changes as altering how recovery residences are certified and how grant funds for recovery support are administered.

- Naloxone and drug‑checking: Multiple 2024–25 bills and budget provisions expanded naloxone access (including removing training requirements for possession and administration in some contexts) and clarified that drug-checking products (for example, fentanyl test strips) are not to be treated as paraphernalia under state law. The OAA highlighted bills that allowed broader possession and administration of opioid antagonists and expanded naloxone access in schools and correctional settings.

- Correctional facilities and long‑acting injectable medications: The presentation referenced bills authorizing the Board of Pharmacy to register correctional facilities to maintain floor stock of long‑acting injectable or extended‑release medications for treatment of mental illness or substance‑use disorders.

Other notable statutes and oversight

- Auditing and accounting: The Auditor of Public Accounts (APA) developed local audit specifications to clarify how localities should account for direct settlement distributions and funds received via the OAA. In response to a Q&A question, Rosatelli pointed stakeholders to the APA’s local government material and said the OAA links to that guidance on its website.

- Governance and oversight: Rosatelli restated that the OAA is governed by an 11‑member board that includes state and local elected officials and subject‑matter experts and that the agency is subject to annual audit by the Auditor of Public Accounts.

Implementation guidance and Q&A highlights

- Eligible recipients and subrecipients: Rosatelli answered questions by noting that settlement funds must be awarded directly to state agencies and to cities/counties that were plaintiffs; those entities may then contract with or subgrant to nonprofits or other providers. “The funds have to directly go to them,” he said, explaining that nonprofits can be subrecipients but not direct recipients of the settlement share reserved by statute.

- Grants and local flexibility: The OAA described its typical approach as allowing localities to propose projects that meet approved abatement uses, rather than prescribing detailed statewide programs. The authority noted it can and has issued targeted grants but frequently funds local proposals tailored to local needs.

- Data and technical assistance: The OAA said it has no current statewide RFP for technical assistance but pointed to regional resource coordinators and encouraged providers to work with localities, community service boards or local health departments. The planned analytics platform (the statewide SUD analytics system) was presented as a forthcoming tool to inform local planning and grant decisions.

No formal votes or new regulations taken at the webinar

This was an informational webinar; no formal OAA board votes or rule adoptions occurred during the session. The presentation summarized recent enacted legislation, appropriation items and budget language and answered stakeholder questions about implementation and grants.

What stakeholders should watch next

Local finance officers and grant managers should review the APA’s local audit specifications and the OAA’s posted presentation and recording for item references and budget language. Agencies and localities planning to apply for OAA funding should track DBHDS regulatory amendments implementing trainee billing and recovery-residence certification changes, and any formal grant solicitations the OAA posts.

Ending: The OAA said the webinar materials and recording will be posted on the authority’s website under the Abatement Academy and will be emailed to registrants; Rosatelli invited follow-up questions on specific bills or budget items.