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2026 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 22
BY SENATORS MYERS, BARROW, BOUDREAUX, JACKSON-ANDREWS, LUNEAU
AND PRESSLY AND REPRESENTATIVES CHASSION AND SPELL
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
To request the legislative auditor to submit a report to the Senate and House health and
welfare committees regarding opioid settlement fund expenditures.
WHEREAS, as a result of the nationwide opioid epidemic, multiple states filed
lawsuits against companies that manufacture, market, promote, distribute, or dispense
opioids; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana participated in the nationwide settlement, which will result
in Louisiana receiving approximately six hundred million dollars in opioid settlement funds
during calendar years 2022 through 2038, to be used for opioid abatement strategy; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana developed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between
the state and the parishes and sheriffs which serves as the governing document for all opioid
settlements and details the allocation and disbursement of funds; and
WHEREAS, the MOU establishes the Louisiana Opioid Abatement Task Force as
the advisory body over all opioid settlement funds for the state; and
WHEREAS, the Task Force contracted with the Louisiana Opioid Abatement
Administration Corporation to carry out the administrative responsibilities of receiving and
dispersing funds and receiving reports from recipient entities; and
WHEREAS, while the Task Force and Corporation have been successful in
establishing a framework for the administration of funds, barriers to local governments
spending the funds still exist; and
WHEREAS, a May 2025 report from the Louisiana Legislative Auditor showed that
parishes and sheriff's offices indicated that barriers to spending settlement funds include a
lack of knowledge of approved purposes, understanding of community needs, staffing,
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SCR NO. 22 ENROLLED
expertise in substance use or opioid use disorders, and identification of programs and
services in the area that are eligible for settlement funds; and
WHEREAS, the Louisiana Department of Health, through the office of behavioral
health and the human service districts and authorities, has resources available to assist local
governments in identifying appropriate uses of the funds; and
WHEREAS, the legislature could also assist in developing programs to help meet
local needs; and
WHEREAS, in order to better help local governments and sheriff's offices identify
how to connect residents with treatment and help they need, the legislature needs more
information on current spending of the funds.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
request the legislative auditor to prepare a written, nonevaluative report on opioid settlement
fund expenditures, in coordination with the Louisiana Opioid Abatement Administration
Corporation and the Opioid Abatement Task Force, and present the report to the Senate and
House health and welfare committees no later than thirty days prior to the start of the 2027
Regular Session.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislature requests that the report includes
the following information:
(1) The total amount of opioid settlement funds received to date.
(2) The total amount of allocations distributed to each parish and sheriffs' office.
(3) An accounting of expenditures by each parish and sheriff's office according to the
expenditures' purpose along the categories of treatment, prevention, and other strategies.
(4) The established basis used to classify spending as "treatment", "prevention", or
"other strategies" according to the approved purpose of such allocations.
(5) The outcome or performance metrics tied to each expenditures where length of
implementation or nature of expenditure lends to such measurement.
(6) The reporting compliance status of each recipient as outlined in the MOU.
(7) Unspent balances and anticipated future allocations.
(8) Administrative costs, including staffing and contracts.
(9) Identified barriers to reporting, oversight, or timely spending.
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
legislative auditor, the Louisiana Opioid Abatement Task Force, and the Louisiana Opioid
Abatement Administration Corporation.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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