MS Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Council; prohibit members from influencing the allocation of funds to affiliated organizations.

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To: Judiciary, Division A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026

By: Senator(s) Seymour

SENATE BILL NO. 2889

AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 41-153-1, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO PROHIBIT A MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL FROM, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, 2
INFLUENCING, SEEKING TO INFLUENCE, VOTING ON, OR PARTICIPATING IN 3
THE RECOMMENDATION OF GRANT RECIPIENTS OR THE RECOMMENDATION TO 4
ALLOCATE FUNDS FOR THE BENEFIT OF ANY ORGANIZATION WITH WHICH THE 5
MEMBER HAS AN AFFILIATION; TO REQUIRE A MEMBER OF THE COUNCIL TO 6
RECUSE ON SUCH MATTERS; TO CONFORM THE QUORUM REQUIREMENT OF THE 7
COUNCIL; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES. 8
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 9
SECTION 1. Section 41-153-1, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 10
amended as follows: 11
41-153-1. (1) As used in this section, Section 27-103-305 12
and Section 27-103-305.1, the following terms shall have the 13
meanings as defined in this subsection unless the context clearly 14
requires otherwise: 15
(a) "Council" means the Mississippi Opioid Settlement 16
Fund Advisory Council created in subsection (2) of this section. 17
(b) "Opioid settlements" means the current and future 18
settlements of opioid litigation with distributors Cardinal 19
Health, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen, manufacturers Purdue 20
Pharma, Inc., Janssen Pharmaceuticals/Johnson & Johnson, Allergan 21
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and Teva, and pharmacy chains CVS, Walgreens, Walmart, and Kroger, 22
and other defendants of related opioid litigation. 23
(c) "Abatement settlement funds" means those monies 24
from the opioid settlements that are required to be spent on 25
opioid abatement programs, goods and services. 26
(d) "Nonabatement settlement funds" means those monies 27
from the opioid settlements that are not required to be spent on 28
opioid abatement programs, goods and services. 29
(2) There is created the Mississippi Opioid Settlement Fund 30
Advisory Council to ensure that monies received and deposited into 31
the Opioid Settlement Fund are allocated and spent in accordance 32
with the terms of the opioid settlements, except as otherwise 33
authorized in Section 27-103-305(4), and to ensure public 34
involvement, accountability and transparency in allocating and 35
accounting for the monies in the fund. 36
(3) The purpose of the council is to review applications for 37
grants funded by the proceeds of opioid settlements and to make 38
recommendations to the Legislature for the appropriation of such 39
proceeds to fund the grants. 40
(4) The Legislature may accept or reject each of the 41
council's grant recipient recommendations, but shall not otherwise 42
amend or modify the recommended list of grant recipients or the 43
amounts recommended for the recipients. The council shall not 44
exclude any qualified applicant from the list provided to the 45
Legislature under subsection (11) of this section. 46
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(5) The council shall consist of the following voting 47
members: 48
(a) The Attorney General or a designee, who shall serve 49
as chair of the council; 50
(b) The State Health Officer or a designee, who shall 51
serve as co-vice chair of the council; 52
(c) The Executive Director of the State Department of 53
Mental Health or a designee, who shall serve as co-vice chair of 54
the council; 55
(d) Two (2) members appointed by the Governor; 56
(e) Two (2) members appointed by the Lieutenant 57
Governor who are not members of the Legislature; 58
(f) Two (2) members appointed by the Speaker of the 59
House of Representatives who are not members of the Legislature; 60
(g) A member appointed by the Chief Justice of the 61
Mississippi Supreme Court; 62
(h) A member to be appointed by the State 63
Superintendent of Public Education; 64
(i) A member of the Mississippi Municipal League to be 65
appointed by the President of the League; 66
(j) A member of the Mississippi Association of 67
Supervisors to be appointed by the President of the Association; 68
(k) A member of the Mississippi Association of Chiefs 69
of Police to be appointed by the President of the Association; and 70
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(l) A member of the Mississippi Sheriffs' Association 71
to be appointed by the President of the Association. 72
(6) The following shall be nonvoting, advisory members of 73
the council: 74
(a) A member of the Mississippi Prosecutors Association 75
to be appointed by the President of the Association; 76
(b) A member of the Office of State Public Defender 77
appointed by the State Public Defender; 78
(c) Three (3) judges with experience related to opioid 79
substance abuse and intervention to be appointed by the Chief 80
Justice of the Mississippi Supreme Court; 81
(d) A member representing the Mississippi Division of 82
Medicaid to be appointed by the Executive Director of the 83
Division; 84
(e) A member representing the Mississippi Department of 85
Human Services to be appointed by the Executive Director of the 86
Department; 87
(f) A member to be appointed by the Commissioner of the 88
Department of Public Safety; 89
(g) A member to be appointed by the Commissioner of 90
Child Protection Services; 91
(h) A member of the Mississippi State Medical 92
Association to be appointed by the President of the Association; 93
(i) A member of the Mississippi Society of Addiction 94
Medicine to be appointed by the President of the Society; 95
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(j) A member representing the Community Mental Health 96
Centers to be appointed by the Executive Director of the State 97
Department of Mental Health; 98
(k) A member representing the Community Health Centers 99
to be appointed by the State Health Officer; 100
(l) A member representing private sector substance 101
abuse treatment facilities to be appointed by the State Health 102
Officer; 103
(m) A member representing a peer support recovery 104
specialist organization to be appointed by the Executive Director 105
of the State Department of Mental Health; 106
(n) The Medical Director of the State Department of 107
Mental Health or a designee; 108
(o) A member from the State Intervention Courts 109
Advisory Committee to be appointed by the Chief Justice of the 110
Mississippi Supreme Court; 111
(p) A member representing the Mississippi Ambulance 112
Alliance to be appointed by the Board of the Alliance; 113
(q) Two (2) members of the Senate to be appointed by 114
the Lieutenant Governor; and 115
(r) Two (2) members of the House to be appointed by the 116
Speaker of the House. 117
(7) Voting members may request to add additional nonvoting, 118
advisory members with expertise in opioid prevention, treatment 119
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and recovery. Such members may be added by a majority vote of the 120
voting members. 121
(8) (a) Members of the council pursuant to subsection 122
(5)(a) through (c) shall serve permanently during their tenure in 123
their respective offices. 124
(b) Members appointed pursuant to subsection (5)(d) 125
through (f) of this section shall serve an initial term ending on 126
December 31, 2027. After the expiration of the initial term, each 127
such appointment shall be for a term of four (4) years from the 128
expiration date of the previous term. 129
(c) All other members of the council shall serve for a 130
three-year term. 131
(d) The respective appointing authority may remove a 132
member for failure to attend at least one-half (1/2) of the 133
scheduled meetings in any one-year period or for other good cause. 134
(e) If a vacancy on the council occurs, the respective 135
appointing authority shall fill the vacancy for the remainder of 136
the unexpired term. Notwithstanding the expiration of a member's 137
term, each member shall serve until a successor is duly appointed. 138
(f) Members of the council shall be appointed within 139
sixty (60) days after effective date of this act. The chair of 140
the council shall call the first meeting of the council no later 141
than ninety (90) days after the effective date of this act. 142
(g) A majority of the voting members of the council 143
shall constitute a quorum. A voting member of the council who 144
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recuses under subsection (16) of this section shall not be 145
considered for the purposes of quorum for the votes for which the 146
voting member of the council is recused. 147
(9) Members of the council shall serve without compensation 148
but may be reimbursed for actual and necessary expenses incurred 149
in the performance of their duties, in accordance with Section 150
25-3-41. All such expenses shall be paid from the Opioid 151
Settlement Fund and not from the State General Fund. 152
(10) The council shall be housed within the Office of the 153
Attorney General. The Attorney General shall provide the staff 154
and facilities necessary to assist the council in the performance 155
of its duties. 156
(11) The council shall: 157
(a) Prepare and publish a list of priorities to guide 158
the selection of grant recipients at its first meeting of each 159
calendar year; 160
(b) Develop and publish criteria and procedures for the 161
submission of grant applications for funds derived from opioid 162
settlements; 163
(c) Review and evaluate applications based on 164
established criteria to determine the most effective and impactful 165
use of funds in addressing opioid-related issues, including 166
prevention, treatment and recovery efforts; 167
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(d) Ensure that all applications are reviewed and 168
evaluated for compliance with the terms of the opioid settlement 169
agreements; 170
(e) Prepare a prioritized list of recommended grant 171
recipients, which includes a description of how each recommended 172
recipient complies with the council's published priorities; and 173
(f) Upon approval of the total list of recommended 174
grant recipients by the council, the list of recommended grant 175
recipients shall be submitted to the Lieutenant Governor, Speaker 176
of the House, Chairs of the Senate and House Appropriations 177
Committees, Chairs of the Senate Public Health and Welfare and 178
House Public Health and Human Services Committees, and Chairs of 179
the Senate and House Judiciary A Committees no later than thirty 180
(30) days before the first day of the Regular Legislative Session. 181
(12) The council shall not exclude any qualified applicant 182
from the list provided to the Legislature under subsection (11) of 183
this section. 184
(13) The council shall ensure that all funds appropriated 185
comply with the terms and conditions of the respective settlement 186
agreements and state laws governing the use of such funds, except 187
as otherwise authorized in Section 27-103-305(4). 188
(14) The council shall adopt necessary rules, regulations 189
and procedures to effectuate the purposes of this act and to 190
ensure that a grant applicant expends all grant funds in a manner 191
consistent with the terms of the opioid settlement agreements. 192
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ST: MS Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Council;
prohibit members from influencing the allocation
of funds to affiliated organizations.
(15) The council shall terminate when all opioid settlement 193
funds being paid pursuant to the opioid settlements have been 194
received and disbursed, unless the Attorney General certifies that 195
additional funds are anticipated within one (1) year. 196
(16) A member of the council shall not, directly or 197
indirectly, influence, seek to influence, vote on, or participate 198
in the recommendation of grant recipients or the recommendation to 199
allocate funds for the benefit of any organization with which the 200
member has an affiliation. A member of the council shall recuse 201
from the discussion, ranking, or vote upon any such matter. 202
( * * *17) (a) By December 1 of each year, the council 203
shall submit an annual report to the Legislature and the Governor 204
summarizing the distribution of funds, outcomes of funded 205
programs, and any recommendations for improving the process of 206
appropriation and administration of settlement funds. 207
(b) The report shall be made publicly available on the 208
Attorney General's website. 209
SECTION 2. This act shall take effect and be in force from 210
and after its passage. 211