Agenda - 09-02-2021; 8-a - Minutes

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9 1 In 2018 the Board of Commissioners authorized Orange County's participation in national 2 litigation related to the nationwide opioid epidemic. At that time the County entered an 3 agreement with the McHugh Fuller Law Group, PLLC to represent the County's interests in the 4 national litigation. 5 6 The national litigation has resulted in the potential for a $26 billion settlement with the four 7 largest corporate defendants. Should such a settlement occur, the attorneys representing the 8 local governments, including McHugh Fuller, could have an attorney payment fund of up to $1.6 9 billion. Under a settlement of this type, North Carolina could receive up to $850 million in 10 potential settlement funds over approximately 20 years. 11 12 For more than a year, the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners, the North 13 Carolina Department of Justice, and a committee consisting of five county commissioners, five 14 county managers, and five county attorneys have worked on the terms of an agreement 15 regarding the disbursement of potential settlement funds among the state and the counties 16 should a settlement of the national litigation occur. 17 18 The result of this work is the attached MOA that recognizes the critical role of North Carolina 19 counties in delivering human and social services to county residents. It directs substantial 20 resources to local governments on the front lines of the opioid epidemic while ensuring that 21 these resources are used in an effective way to address the epidemic. 22 23 Should the national litigation settle as discussed herein, the settlement funds will be distributed 24 among local governments according to the National Multidistrict Litigation Opioid Allocation 25 Class Model, which is a formula developed by the national litigation attorneys, including 26 McHugh Fuller. The formula allocates funds in proportion to where the opioid crisis is the most 27 severe. The model accounts for the number of pills dispensed, number of opioid overdose 28 deaths, and number of people suffering from opioid use disorder. A county's allocation 29 percentage will not change over the term of the MOA. 30 31 Pursuant to the terms of the MOA, opioid settlement funds received in North Carolina from the 32 national settlement will be allocated as follows: 33 • 80% will go to Local Governments listed in the MOA to address the opioid epidemic, 34 • 15% will go to the State of North Carolina, 35 • 5% will be used for a County Incentive Fund for any county (and any municipality in that 36 county slated to receive settlement funds) in which the county itself and every 37 municipality of a certain size signs the MOA. 38 39 These funds may only be used for opioid remediation activities. 40 41 The MOA prescribes collaborative strategic planning and stakeholder involvement required for 42 certain activities. Counties are required to hold annual meetings with municipalities within their 43 borders to encourage collaboration and plan for permissible expenditures in the upcoming year. 44 Local governments are also encouraged to engage in a strategic planning process to access 45 additional expenditure options. 46 47 The MOA also establishes a Coordination Group composed of local government 48 representatives, state government representatives, and others with relevant expertise that will 49 meet periodically to help coordinate and guide Local Governments with their work under the 50 MOA. The Coordination Group includes twelve total representatives as follows: