CHARLESTON – West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrisey’s office has reached an agreement with many county and city governments about how money from future opioid settlements and verdicts will be dispersed.
Morrisey unveiled the Memorandum of Understanding during a February 16 press conference in his state Capitol office.
“It’s not easy to get 54 counties and dozens of cities on the same page,” he said. “But we were diligent and met multiple times a week. … I think we have something really, really powerful.”
The agreement, which Morrisey called West Virginia First, would create a private nonprofit foundation that would receive 72.5 percent of any settlements or judgements. Local governments would get 24.5 percent, and the remaining 3 percent would be held by the state in escrow.
“The reason why this is so important, if you look at any of the settlements out there, the one key piece that’s ordered is there has to be an agreed upon mechanism between the state, cities and counties to actually lay out how the money is going to get spent,” Morrisey said. “That’s what this represents. No money can flow without an agreement.
“The goal is to make sure we’re using existing resources the right way and we’re using evidence based practices that are proven to be effective and focus on the needs of each region. Money will ultimately flow to target those who need it most. It will focus on the supply aspect, the demand aspect, and also education and prevention.”
The foundation would be started with $10 million from the state’s settlement with McKinsey and Co. The foundation also could seek grants and receive charitable donations. The funds would be distributed through an 11-member foundation board.
Morrisey said previous settlements the state has secured in opioid cases won’t be included because those funds already have been used, and any monies from the pending verdict in the federal cases filed by Huntington and Cabell County are exempt as well.
The potential uses for the monies include funding to develop and promote substance abuse avoidance, research, innovation and education programs; funding for law enforcement to curtail the sale, distribution, promotion or use of opioids and other illegal drugs; and funding to support recovery efforts, such as treatment performed by qualified providers and drug counselors.
The agreement was required by the state’s Mass Litigation Panel, and all attorneys representing various counties and cities in dozens of cases filed against opioid companies in state court have agreed to recommend the local governments approve the agreement. But those local governments still have to officially approve the plan.
A MLP trial against some opioid manufacturers is scheduled to begin April 4.
Morrisey said he will seek support of the foundation and abatement plan from the Legislature and Gov. Jim Justice. That includes having Justice call a special session for lawmakers to approve it.
“The communities of our state have been ravaged by the wrongdoing of those within the pharmaceutical supply chain,” Morrisey said. “With this MOU, West Virginia has dramatically improved its ability to speak with a united voice and take actions to protect all the citizens of our state from this epidemic.
“Through our efforts, West Virginia is positioning itself to receive more opioid settlement dollars for our citizens to address this epidemic than virtually any other state in the nation. I’ve always said that West Virginians must be put first in any lawsuit related to opioids, and they will. We are honoring our promises to West Virginia.”
Morrisey said the agreement is a “huge win” for the counties and cities.
“We will be able to meaningfully address the regional jail fee problem and help government entities that are already heavily investing in addressing the drug problem,” Morrisey said.
The foundation would be managed by the 11-member board – five of whom will be appointed by the state and confirmed by the state Senate. The other six each would represent a region of the state. An executive director would run the day-to-day operations of the foundation but only would vote if there were a tie.
“Something that's critically important for the state and for the locality is to have an abatement program in place so that we can make blessed sure this never ever happens again in the state of West Virginia,” said Huntington Mayor Steve Williams, one of the local government officials on hand for the press conference. “Certainly we've been on the front line in Huntington, but every community in this state has been impacted by this.”
