BALTIMORE – Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott signed an executive order Thursday to manage funds from opioid lawsuit settlements. The order outlines how the city will use $242.5 million in settlements won from pharmaceutical companies.
In 2018, the city declined to be part of the global settlement against several pharmaceutical companies and decided to fight the companies directly in court. Scott said that the settlement offer was not enough to account for the thousands of lives lost due to the crisis.
“We made the decision to see our litigation against these companies through until the very end, foregoing the global settlements that were offered along the way, because we knew how impacted our community has been and how important it was to see adequate financial accountability from these companies. But it isn’t enough to win the funds – we need to put them to work,” Scott said. “We have already won more money than we would have gotten in the entire global settlement offer.”
Scott called these funds critical and said he hopes the money will save lives.
How the opioid settlement money will be used
The executive order officially establishes the Baltimore City Opioid Restitution Fund. It also creates two new city positions to oversee the use of settlement money, establishes a community advisory board, and requires the city to publish an overdose reduction strategy.
According to the Mayor’s office, a trust will be created to, “sustain the impact of these funds in the community for at least 15 years.”
Thursday’s order includes an immediate allocation of $20 million to the city’s health department for overdose prevention efforts. Forty-two million dollars was already earmarked for specific substance abuse organizations throughout Baltimore.
Sara Whaley, Program Director of the Bloomberg Overdose Prevention Initiative at the Bloomberg School and a senior practice associate at the school, helped advise the city in developing the executive order.
“With this Executive Order, Baltimore will establish a clear governance structure for the use of restitution funds that centers community involvement, transparency, and accountability,” Whaley said.
About the restitution fund
The fund will be managed in an account separate from the general fund so that the money is not misappropriated.
The Restitution Advisory Board will make recommendations on how the money is used. The funds can bolster programs, services and supports addressing substance use, prevention, treatment and recovery, according to the city. Both government and non-government organizations can apply for funds.
More on the Restitution Advisory Board
The Restitution Advisory Board will comprise 13 voting members and three non-voting delegates.
Voting members include two members of the city council, a designee from the state, the CEO from the local behavioral health authority, five Baltimore-based health experts and at least four Baltimore City residents who have been impacted by this crisis.
The body will meet monthly for the first nine months, and then quarterly. Non-city employees on the board will be paid $15,000 per year, serve one-year terms and can be a member for up to three consecutive terms.
Applications for the board can be found here.
The Restitution Trust
By establishing a trust, the city hopes to promote and fund these types of programs for at least 15 years to create what the Scott Administration calls a generational impact. One senior Scott Administration official compared this to a college endowment.
The city will spend at least 5% of the trust each year on programs, according to the order, a slow dole out of the cash in hand. This is to create a more sustainable, long-term response.
Interest earned from the trust will remain in that account and will not enter the general fund. A five-person board will oversee this trust, according to the city.
City pledges transparency
With this influx of cash, the city pledges to publish several reports to remain accountable and transparent, according to Scott. The executive order outlines that the following will be published every two years.
- A comprehensive overdose strategy
- Substance use community needs assessment
- Community engagement plan
- Transparency and accountability plan
A public facing dashboard with funding allocation information will be updated annually and there will be a report submitted to the mayor and city council on funded programs, according to the order.
In-person and virtual town hall meetings, focus groups and an online survey will be used to increase community engagement. The city says more details on this will be released soon.
Two new jobs will be added to city hall, including the executive director of overdose response, who will coordinate the city’s response to the epidemic. This will be a cabinet-level position. Also, the city will hire an opioid restitution program manager.
Mayor’s Office of Recovery Programs
This office was funded by American Rescue Plans money and will take on another role to assist in the rollout and execution of this plan. The city says it will coordinate notices of funding availability, develop grant agreements and oversight to funded organizations, and publish the annual reports as well as update the public dashboard.
The city says it also will begin paying back counsel it retained to fight these lawsuits in court. That firm, Susman Godfrey, has been fronting the legal expenses for the city since 2018, according to Scott.
The city says it is heading to trial on September 16 against other drug makers with the hope of bringing more justice to neighbors impacted by the opioid crisis.
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Christian Olaniran
