Wasden Announces Full Participation of Idaho Cities and Counties in National Opioid Settlements

(BOISE) – Attorney General Lawrence Wasden has announced that all eligible counties and cities in Idaho have signed on to participate in two national opioid settlements.

On August 24, 2021, Wasden and Governor Brad Little announced their intention to join the settlements, which total up to $119 million for Idaho and participating counties and cities.

The total amount of funding for the state, counties and cities is dependent on how many eligible entities sign on to participate. A condition to receiving the maximum amount of available funds is that all 44 counties and 24 cities eligible to participate sign on. As of this week, all 68 eligible entities have now agreed to join the settlements, putting Idaho well on its way to receiving the full $119 million.

“This level of participation shows the strong commitment of both the state and local governments to work together to obtain the most money to fight the opioid epidemic in Idaho,” Wasden said. “This outcome would not have been possible without the coordinated work of multiple organizations and local governments, including the counties, cities, and regional health districts, the Idaho Prosecuting Attorneys Association, the Idaho Association of Counties and the Association of Idaho Cities. I credit everyone involved for getting us to this point.”

Nationally, the deadline for local governments to sign on to the opioid settlements is January 26, 2022. The settlements are contingent upon there being enough local government participation nationally. An announcement on whether those thresholds have been met is expected in late February 2022. Once the settlements are finalized, participating entities could see their first payments as early as April 2022.

Under the Idaho Opioid Settlement Intrastate Allocation Agreement, opioid settlement funds will be divided with 40% going directly to participating counties and cities and 20% to regional public health districts. The remaining 40% will be allocated to the State-Directed Opioid Settlement Fund to be appropriated by the Idaho Legislature based on recommendations by the Idaho Behavioral Health Council.