Officials urge cautious use of opioid-settlement funds for accountability courts amid legal uncertainty

Council for Accountability Courts and Justice staff asked senators to approve a reduced share of opioid settlement funds for accountability-court work and described the council's rationale and safeguards.

Taylor Jones, introduced by a colleague as CACJ's executive director, told the committee the House cut the governor's $25 million recommendation roughly in half — to $12,652,773 — and proposed using the settlement money to sustain adult felony drug courts and juvenile treatment courts. "We feel like we could use those funds to support felony drug courts and juvenile treatment courts," she said.

CACJ general counsel Allison Larner described the legal complexity: the settlement documentation is lengthy and its operative language governing eligible uses spans only a small portion of the text. CACJ has consulted a research evaluator about whether people with other substance use disorders are "at risk" for opioid use disorder and therefore eligible; the council reported a working interpretation but said it has not received an opinion from the Department of Law. "We have not" received clarity from the Department of Law, Larner said.

Committee members warned that if the state spends settlement proceeds in ways later deemed ineligible, funds could be clawed back. Lawmakers asked for a Department of Law opinion and documentation of how the council would ensure continuity of care while meeting settlement reporting requirements before finalizing allocations.

CACJ proposed restricting settlement dollars to programs where continuity of care and reporting can be ensured, and recommended keeping some spending in traditional state funds to mitigate legal risk.