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Committee approves bill allowing Kentucky to accept opioid settlement funds altered by bankruptcies
Summary
The Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee voted to give favorable expression to House Bill 537, which would permit Kentucky to accept opioid abatement settlement funds allocated differently than current statute because of corporate bankruptcies.
The Senate Appropriations and Revenue Committee on Wednesday voted to give favorable expression to House Bill 537, a measure that would allow Kentucky to accept opioid settlement funds whose distribution was altered by subsequent corporate bankruptcies.
Supporters told the committee the bill responds to unexpected changes in national bankruptcy settlements that changed the split between state and local shares established under earlier law. “Back in the 2021 session … we set up the opioid abatement commission,” said Will Schroeder, senior counsel for the attorney general, summarizing the statutory history and the problem the bill addresses. He and other presenters said money is currently held in a trust awaiting disposition but cannot yet be accepted because the bankruptcy allocations differ from the statutory split.
Representative Chris Fugate, who introduced the measure to the committee, said the bill would permit the Commonwealth to accept funds that are ready to be allocated but currently cannot be received under existing statute. Chris Lewis, division chief for consumer and senior protection at the attorney general’s office, was offered as the subject-matter contact for technical questions about the bankruptcies and their effect on funds.
Committee roll call showed unanimous approval in the session’s recorded vote. Chair McDaniel announced the result as “Being 8 … aye votes, no nay votes. Measure passes with favorable expression.” The committee did not record the name of the motion’s mover or seconder in the transcript.
The bill drew support from the Kentucky League of Cities and other stakeholders referenced during the presentation, according to witnesses who appeared before the panel.
No fiscal amounts for the trust were cited on the record at the committee meeting; presenters said only that funds are “in a trust” awaiting allocation and that statutory language needs to align with bankruptcy distributions before the Commonwealth can accept them.
The committee’s favorable expression advances the measure for further legislative consideration.
