New York Laws
Article 25 - Funding for Services of the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services
25.18 - Statewide Opioid Settlements.

(a) Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall
have the following meanings: 1. Eligible expenditures shall include
services and programs that are consistent with the approved uses and
terms of the statewide opioid settlement agreement as defined in this
section, which may only include:
(i) to prevent substance use disorders through an evidence-based
youth-focused public health education and prevention campaign, including
school-based prevention and health care services and programs to reduce
the risk of substance use by school-aged children;
(ii) to develop and implement statewide public education campaigns to
reduce stigma against individuals with a substance use disorder, provide
information about the risks of substance use, best practices for
addressing substance use disorders, and information on how to locate
services that reduce the adverse health consequences associated with
substance use disorders or provide treatment for substance use
disorders;
(iii) to provide substance use disorder treatment and early recovery
programs for youth and adults, with an emphasis on programs that provide
a continuum of care that includes screening and assessment for substance
use disorders and co-occurring disorders, active treatment, family
involvement, case management, relapse management for substance use and
other co-occurring behavioral health disorders, vocational services,
literacy services, parenting classes, family therapy and counseling
services, crisis services, recovery services, evidence-based treatments,
medication-assisted treatments, including medication assisted treatment
provided in correctional facilities, psychiatric medication,
psychotherapy and transitional services programs;
(iv) to provide harm reduction counseling and services to reduce the
adverse health consequences associated with substance use disorders,
including overdose prevention and prevention of communicable diseases
related to substance use, provided by a substance use disorder service
provider or qualified community-based organization;
(v) to provide housing services for people who are recovering from a
substance use disorder. Such housing services shall be appropriate,
based on the individual's current need and stage of recovery. Such
housing services may include but are not limited to supportive housing
services;
(vi) to support community-based programs that reduce the likelihood of
criminal justice involvement for individuals who have or are at risk of
having a substance use disorder;
(vii) to provide programs for pregnant women and new parents who
currently or formerly have had a substance use disorder and newborns
with neonatal abstinence syndrome; and/or
(viii) to provide vocational and educational training for individuals
with or at risk for a substance use disorder.
2. "Government entity" means (i) departments, agencies, divisions,
boards, commissions and/or instrumentalities of the state of New York,
excluding the department of financial services, provided however, the
department of financial services shall be considered a government entity
for purposes of claims or proceedings filed by it against Johnson &
Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Ortho-McNeil-Janssen
Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and/or Janssen Pharmaceutica, Inc.; the
superintendent of the department of financial services; and the
department of law; and
(ii) any governmental subdivision within the boundaries of the state
of New York, including, but not limited to, counties, municipalities,
districts, towns and/or villages, and any of their subdivisions, special

districts and school districts, and any department, agency, division,
board, commission and/or instrumentality thereof.
3. "Participating entities" means participating entities as such term
is defined in any statewide opioid settlement agreement.
4. "Opioid settlement fund" means the fund created by section
ninety-nine-nn of the state finance law, the funds of which shall be
used or distributed by the commissioners, as authorized by the
legislature by statute or appropriation, for the purposes of preventing
addiction and reducing the harms caused by the overdose and substance
use disorder epidemic consistent with the terms of any statewide opioid
settlement agreement.
5. "Released claims" means released claims as such term is defined in
the statewide opioid settlement agreements.
6. "Released entities" means released entities as such term is defined
in the statewide opioid settlement agreements.
7. "New York subdivisions" means each county, city, town, village, or
special district in the state of New York.
8. "Statewide opioid settlement agreements" means agreements of
statewide applicability entered into on or after June first, two
thousand twenty-one by the office of the attorney general, including but
not limited to consent judgments, consent decrees filed or unfiled, and
related agreements or documents between the state and certain opioid
manufacturers, distributors, dispensers, consultants, chain pharmacies,
related entities, and/or the New York subdivisions, to provide
remuneration for conduct related to the manufacture, promotion,
dispensing, sale, and/or distribution of opioid products which are
consistent with subdivision sixteen of section sixty-three of the
executive law. Copies of such agreements, including any amendments
thereto, shall be kept on file by the attorney general, who shall make
such available for inspection and copying pursuant to the provisions of
article six of the public officers law.
(b) Eligible expenditures for opioid settlement funds. 1. The
legislature shall appropriate funds to be used for eligible expenditures
that are consistent with the approved uses and terms of the statewide
opioid settlement agreement. Such expenditures shall be distributed
regionally and in accordance with the statewide opioid settlement
agreements to ensure adequate geographic disbursement across the state.
2. New York subdivisions may apply to the appropriate agency for
funding for eligible expenditures consistent with the terms of any
statewide opioid settlement agreement. Any New York subdivision which
receives funding pursuant to this section shall be required to annually
certify to the appropriate state agency in which funding was received
that such New York subdivision is utilizing such funds in accordance
with the requirements of this section and section ninety-nine-nn of the
state finance law.
3. Each New York subdivision shall provide a detailed accounting of
how the funds were used as well as an analysis and evaluation of the
services and programs funded. Such information shall be included in the
report provided pursuant to paragraph ten of subdivision (c) of this
section.
(c) Advisory board establishment and responsibilities. 1. The opioid
settlement board is hereby established under the office of addiction
services and supports to provide recommendations on how funding received
by the opioid settlement fund pursuant to section ninety-nine-nn of the
state finance law shall be allocated by the legislature. Recommendations
shall be evidence-based and may take into consideration federal, state
or local initiatives and activities that have shown to be effective in
preventing and treating substance use disorders as well as maintaining

recovery and assisting with the collateral effects of substance use
disorders for individuals and their families or support system. Such
recommendations shall also take into account any gaps in access to
services or programs identified as eligible expenditures and incorporate
mechanisms for measurable outcomes for determining the effectiveness of
funds expended. The office and any other relevant agency that provides
or regulates eligible expenditures shall provide any necessary staff,
resources and technical assistance to assist with the functions of the
advisory board. Such assistance shall be supported pursuant to an
appropriation by the legislature, in accordance with the statewide
opioid settlement agreements.
2. The opioid settlement board may make recommendations to the
legislature and the governor regarding the addition or removal of any
eligible expenditures in response to changing substance use disorder
needs in the state. No recommendation may be made to remove an eligible
expenditure without three-fourths approval of present board members.
3. The opioid settlement board shall consist of twenty-one members
appointed as follows:
(i) the commissioner of addiction services and supports, the
commissioner of mental health, the commissioner of health, and the
director of the division of budget, or their designees;
(ii) two appointments by the governor;
(iii) three appointments by the temporary president of the senate;
(iv) three appointments by the speaker of the assembly;
(v) one appointments by the attorney general;
(vi) one appointment by the mayor of the city of New York; and
(vii) seven appointments from a list of nominees submitted, pursuant
to a statewide opioid settlement agreement, by an association of
counties that represents at least ninety percent of the counties in New
York, counting both by number of counties and by population at the time
such statewide opioid settlement agreement was finalized. Such
appointments shall be selected as follows: three from the governor, one
from the temporary president of the senate, one from the speaker of the
assembly, one from the minority leader of the senate and one from the
minority leader of the assembly.
4. Each member shall be appointed to serve three-year terms and in the
event of a vacancy, the vacancy shall be filled in the manner of the
original appointment for the remainder of the term. The appointed
members and commissioners shall receive no compensation for their
services but shall be allowed their actual and necessary expenses
incurred in the performance of their duties as board members.
5. Every effort shall be made to ensure a balanced and diverse board,
representing the geographic regions and racial and ethnic demographics
of the state as well as those with lived experiences of a substance use
disorder. Appointed members shall have an expertise in public and
behavioral health, substance use disorder treatment, harm reduction,
criminal justice, public finance, or drug policy. Further, the board
shall include individuals with personal or professional experience with
substance use and addiction issues and co-occurring mental illnesses as
well as providing services to those that have been disproportionately
impacted by the enforcement and criminalization of addiction.
6. The chairperson of the board and the vice chairperson shall be
elected from among the members of the board by the members of such
board. The vice chairperson shall represent the board in the absence of
the chairperson at all official board functions. A majority of the
voting members of the board shall constitute a quorum.
7. Members of the board shall not take any action to direct funding
from the opioid settlement fund to any entity in which they or their

family members have any interest, direct or indirect, or receive any
commission or profit whatsoever, direct or indirect. Members of the
board shall recuse themselves from any discussion or vote relating to
such interest.
8. The board shall meet at least quarterly, to ensure recommendations
are updated and consistent with the needs of the state. Such meetings
shall be held in accordance with article seven of the public officers
law and pursuant to the federal americans with disabilities act of
nineteen hundred ninety, as amended.
9. On or before November first of each year, beginning November first,
two thousand twenty-one, the board shall provide their recommendations
for how such funds shall be appropriated, consistent with the
requirements of this section and section ninety-nine-nn of the state
finance law. Such recommendations shall be provided in a written report
to the governor, the temporary president of the senate, the speaker of
the assembly, the chair of the senate finance committee, the chair of
the assembly ways and means committee, the chair of the senate
alcoholism and substance abuse committee and the chair of the assembly
alcoholism and drug abuse committee.
10. On or before November first of each year, beginning one year after
the initial deposit of monies in the opioid settlement fund, the
relevant commissioners, shall provide a written report to the governor,
temporary president of the senate, speaker of the assembly, chair of the
senate finance committee, chair of the assembly ways and means
committee, chair of the senate alcoholism and substance abuse committee,
chair of the assembly alcoholism and drug abuse committee, and the
opioid settlement advisory board. Such report shall be presented as a
consolidated dashboard and be made publicly available on the respective
offices' websites. The report shall, to the extent practicable after
making all diligent efforts to obtain such information, include the
following: (i) the baseline funding for any entity that receives funding
from the opioid settlement fund, prior to the receipt of such opioid
settlement funds; (ii) how funds deposited in the opioid settlement fund
had been utilized in the preceding calendar year, including but not
limited to: (A) the amount of money disbursed from the fund and the
award process used for such disbursement, if applicable; (B) the names
of the recipients, the amounts awarded to such recipient and details
about the purpose such funds were awarded for, including what specific
services and programs the funds were used on and what populations such
services or programs served; (C) the main criteria utilized to determine
the award, including how the program or service assists to reduce the
effects of substance use disorders; (D) an analysis of the effectiveness
of the services and/or programs that received opioid settlement funding
in their efforts to reduce the effects of the overdose and substance use
disorder epidemic. Such analysis shall utilize evidence-based uniform
metrics when reviewing the effects the service and/or program had on
prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery advancements; (E)
any relevant information provided by the New York subdivisions pursuant
to this section; and (F) any other information the commissioner deems
necessary to help inform future appropriations and funding decisions,
and ensure such funding is not being used to supplant local, state, or
federal funding.
(d) Limitation on authority of government entities to bring lawsuits.
No government entity shall have the authority to assert released claims
against entities released by the department of law in a statewide opioid
settlement agreement executed by the department of law and the released
party on or after June first, two thousand twenty-one. Any action filed
by a government entity after June thirtieth, two thousand nineteen

asserting released claims against a manufacturer, distributor, or
dispenser of opioid products shall be extinguished by operation of law
upon being released pursuant to such statewide opioid settlement
agreement.