House Bill 848

AN ACT TO CREATE THE OPIOID SETTLEMENT FUND COMMITTEE FOR THE PURPOSE OF ANNUALLY DETERMINING THE ALLOCATION OF MONIES RECEIVED FROM OPIOID LITIGATION SETTLEMENTS AND DEPOSITED INTO THE OPIOID SETTLEMENT FUND; TO DESIGNATE THE MEMBERS OF THE COMMITTEE; TO REQUIRE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO CONVENE THE COMMITTEE WITHIN SIX MONTHS AFTER PASSAGE OF THIS ACT; TO STATE CERTAIN PURPOSES FOR WHICH GRANTS FROM OPIOID LITIGATION SETTLEMENT MONIES MAY BE AWARDED BY THE COMMITTEE; TO AUTHORIZE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO REMIT ELECTRONIC TRANSFERS OF FUNDS TO THE OPIOID SETTLEMENT FUND; TO REQUIRE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL TO ANNUALLY SUBMIT AN ITEMIZED FINANCIAL REPORT TO THE LEGISLATURE AND THE STATE AUDITOR ON DISBURSEMENTS MADE FROM THE FUND BY THE COMMITTEE; TO AMEND SECTION 27-103-305, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, IN CONFORMITY TO THE PROVISIONS OF THIS ACT; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. (1) There is created the Opioid Settlement Fund Committee, which consists of the following fifteen (15) members or, except for those members designated in paragraphs (n) and (o), their appointed designees:

(a) The Governor;

(b) The Lieutenant Governor;

(d) The Attorney General;

(e) The Executive Director of the State Board of Mental Health;

(f) The State Health Officer;

(g) The State Superintendent of Public Education;

(h) The Administrative Director of the Administrative Office of Courts;

(i) The President of the Mississippi Municipal League;

(j) The President of the Mississippi Association of Supervisors;

(k) The President of the Mississippi Association of Chiefs of Police;

(l) The President of the Mississippi Sheriffs' Association;

(m) The President of the Mississippi Fire Chiefs Association;

(n) The Chair of the House Public Health and Human Services Committee, as an ex officio, nonvoting member; and

(o) The Chair of the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee, as an ex officio, nonvoting member.

(2) The purpose of the Opioid Settlement Fund Committee is to annually select grant recipients and determine the allocation of monies received from the various settlement agreements reached as a result of the state's litigation against opioid manufacturers, distributors, retailers and other parties, which monies are deposited in the Opioid Settlement Fund created under Section 27-103-305. The committee is administratively attached to the Office of the Attorney General. No later than six (6) months after the passage of this act, the Attorney General shall convene the members of the Opioid Settlement Fund Committee for its initial meeting.

(3) The Opioid Settlement Fund Committee shall award grants annually from the Opioid Settlement Fund, upon appropriation by the Legislature, in accordance with the requirements of the opioid litigation settlements described in Section 27-103-305 and any other settlements agreements subsequently reached by the state in opioid litigation. Subject to the requirements of the opioid litigation settlements and any other requirements imposed by law, the committee may expend monies to provide grants to selected recipients for the support of: drug education and prevention programs in schools; nonprofit chemical dependency centers; drug court programs; the University of Mississippi Medical Center; private hospitals for the purpose of defraying expenses incurred in delivering healthcare relating to chemical dependency and mental illness to uninsured patients for whom there is no reimbursement; and such other appropriate programs or entities determined by the committee to be in compliance with the opioid litigation settlement agreements.

(4) The Attorney General shall promulgate rules and regulations that are necessary for the administration of the committee and to create an application and award process for grants while ensuring compliance with the various opioid litigation settlement agreements and any other requirements imposed by law in order to carry out the purposes of this section.

(5) The Attorney General may remit, in such amounts and at such times determined by the Attorney General, an electronic transfer of funds to the Opioid Settlement Fund.

(6) Before January 5 of each year, the Office of the Attorney General shall provide an itemized financial report to the Legislature and the State Auditor of all disbursements made pursuant to this section.

SECTION 2. Section 27-103-305, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

27-103-305. (1) There is created in the State Treasury a special fund to be known as the Opioid Settlement Fund. The fund shall consist of monies received by the Attorney General on behalf of the State of Mississippi from settlements of opioid litigation with distributors Cardinal Health, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen, manufacturers Janssen Pharmaceuticals/Johnson & Johnson, Allergan and Teva, and pharmacy chains CVS, Walgreens and Walmart, which are deposited into the fund by the Attorney General.

(2) Monies in the fund shall be expended upon appropriation by the Legislature, as directed by the Opioid Settlement Fund Committee created under Section 1 of this act, in accordance with the requirements of the opioid litigation settlements described in subsection (1) of this section.

(3) Unexpended amounts remaining in the fund at the end of a fiscal year shall not lapse into the State General Fund, and any interest earned or investment earnings on amounts in the fund shall be deposited into such fund.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.