In early April, the state Department of Health Services (DHS) submitted a proposal to the Legislature’s budget-writing Joint Finance Committee requesting their approval for DHS’s plan for spending $36 million in settlement funds received from opioid litigation.  In summary, DHS proposes to spend these funds for the following purposes:

• Tribal Nations:  $6 million
• Community, Education, After-School Prevention:  $5 million
• Family Support/Resource Centers: $5 million
• Peer Support in Opioid Treatment Programs: $5 million
• Narcan:  $3.5 million
• Fentanyl Test Strips:  $1 million
• Capital Projects:  $3 million
• Room and Board: $2.5 million
• EMS “Leave Behind” Programs:  $1.5 million
• Public Health Vending Machines: $1 million
• Law Enforcement Grants:  $1 million
• Data Collection and Surveillance System Enhancements:  $1.5 million