Idaho Attorney General’s Office
(WOODED) – Attorney General Lawrence Wasden announced that all eligible counties and cities in Idaho have committed to participate in two national opioid settlements.
On August 24, 2021, Wasden and Governor Brad Little announced plans to join the Settlements, which total up to $119 million for Idaho and participating counties and cities.
The total amount of funding for the state, counties, and cities depends on the number of eligible entities that commit to participating. A condition for receiving the maximum amount of funds available is that all 44 counties and 24 cities are eligible to participate. As of this week, all 68 eligible entities have now agreed to join the settlements, putting Idaho on track to receive the full $119 million.
“This level of participation shows the strong commitment of state and local governments to working together to get as much money as possible to fight the opioid epidemic in Idaho,” Wasden said. “This result would not have been possible without the coordinated work of multiple organizations and local governments, including counties, cities, and regional health districts, the Idaho Prosecuting Attorneys Association, the Idaho Association of Counties, and the Association of Idaho Cities. I thank everyone involved for getting us to this point.
Nationally, the deadline for local governments to sign opioid agreements is January 26, 2022. Agreements are dependent on sufficient local government participation nationally. An announcement on whether these thresholds have been met is expected in late February 2022. Once settlements are finalized, participating entities could see their first payouts as early as April 2022.
Under Idaho’s Opioid Settlement Intrastate Allocation Agreement, opioid settlement funds will be split, with 40% going directly to participating counties and cities and 20% to regional public health districts. The remaining 40% will be allocated to the state-run Opioid Settlement Fund that will be appropriated by the Idaho Legislature based on recommendations from the Idaho Behavioral Health Council.
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