AB 862

This bill creates two mechanisms for depositing and eventually expending

moneys derived from opioid-related court settlements. The first is a nonlapsible

segregated trust fund created within the state treasury designated as the opioid

settlement trust fund. Under the bill, the opioid settlement trust fund consists of all

moneys received by the state resulting from any judgment against or settlement with

a member of the opioid industry that are awarded or designated for past

opioid-related damages. To expend moneys from the opioid settlement trust fund,

the employee of the Department of Health Services that directs opioid initiatives

must submit a proposal for the expenditure to the Joint Committee on Finance for

review under its passive review process.

The second mechanism pertains to moneys from an opioid-related judgment or

settlement between the opioid industry and state and local governments that are

attributed to future efforts to abate the opioid crisis. The bill requires the attorney

general to organize a nonstock, nonprofit corporation to receive and distribute these

moneys. As a condition of receiving the moneys, the bill sets criteria that the

corporation must meet, which include having a board of directors comprised of 15

members appointed as described in the bill, complying with open meetings laws and

open records laws as if it was a governmental entity, refraining from expending the

moneys unless the expenditure is in accordance with any applicable court order and

is either an actual and reasonable administrative expense or is included in a

comprehensive abatement plan and is consistent with a purpose specified in the bill,

and submitting an annual report to the attorney general and the chairpersons of the

Joint Committee on Finance describing the activities and expenditures of the

corporation and any outcomes achieved by the expenditure.