Opioid Abatement Frequently Asked Questions

Texas has participated in settlement agreements with different companies to resolve legal claims against them for their role in the opioid crisis. The amount of funding Texas anticipates receiving is dependent on the number of local governments that join the settlement agreements.

Learn more about the flow of opioid settlement funds.

The Opioid Abatement Account is an account in general revenue consisting primarily of amounts from statewide opioid settlement agreements. Funds in the account may be appropriated through the legislative process only to a state agency to address opioid-related prevention, treatment programs and as otherwise allowed

The Opioid Abatement Trust Fund is held by the Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company.

• Portions are directly allocated to political subdivisions
• Texas Access to Justice Foundation received a one-time direct allocation per statute
• Additional provisions provide for an allocation for hospital districts, while a small percentage is allowed for administration
• The remainder is distributed by the Council, with annual distribution goals of 75 percent divided among the Texas Health and Human Services regional healthcare partnership areas and 25percent to select programs

Learn more about the flow of opioid settlement funds.

The Texas Opioid Abatement Fund Council was formed to ensure that money recovered through the joint efforts of the state and its political subdivisions through a statewide opioid settlement agreement is allocated fairly and spent to remediate the opioid crisis using efficient, cost-effective methods.

Learn more about the Council and its work.

Public comment on the Council's work will be solicited on an ongoing basis. For Council meetings, if public comment is available, the agenda and instructions to register will be on the meeting notice posted on the Texas Register at least seven days before the meeting date.

Public comment will also be solicited during the Council's rule making process. Rules for public comment will also be posted on the Texas Register. The comment period is typically 30 days after publication.

Individuals wishing to provide information regarding an opioid abatement program or service they believe may be of interest to the Council can complete the vendor intake form (XLSX). This form is for information purposes only and is not required for organizations to apply for funding. Submitting information or discussing the programs and strategies offered by an organization will not constitute as applying for funds or demonstrate a commitment by the Council to fund potential grant application submissions.

For general questions or comments, please email us.

Sign up to receive email updates on upcoming council meetings or opportunities for public comment.

The timeline for funds to be distributed by the Council is still being established. The Council is currently working to establish a fair and efficient process to review and grant funds and established by state law.

Distribution of allocated funds to political subdivisions will begin in early 2023.

Distributions from the Opioid Abatement Account will be in alignment with the legislative appropriation process.

To stay up to date on the work of the Council and future meeting dates, sign up for email notifications.

The Council will work to set funding priorities for grants, including one or more evidence-based opioid abatement strategies.

The settlement document, Exhibit E - List of Opioid Remediation Uses (PDF), contains a non-exhaustive list of opioid remediation strategies. This document acts as a guide as to how states, municipalities and counties should prioritize funding.

Other than statute requiring spending the funds to address opioid-related harms in the community, political subdivisions may use their discretion to spend their allocated share of the funds.

Learn more about fund disbursement.

Each county and city named in the relevant state appropriations document (General Appropriations Act for the 87th Legislative Regular Session, Article IX, Informational Rider 17.18) will receive the portion described in the state appropriations document. Based on how much funding is available for distribution, each county and city will receive its share of the amount available. Funds are available for distribution based on the various payment schedules in the settlement agreements and court orders. As new settlement agreements continue to increase the funds expected to come to Texas, the amount going to cities and counties will grow over time as well.

We plan to begin distributions to political subdivisions in early 2023. For questions related to fund disbursement, contact the Texas Treasury Safekeeping Trust Company.

Political subdivisions are not required to report their uses of allocated political subdivision funds.

For questions regarding ongoing litigation, including how to sign on to additional settlement proceedings, please contact the Office of the Attorney General.