MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A recent order by state Attorney General J.B. McCuskey will redirect future opioid settlement cases from the West Virginia First Foundation to the state legislature.
Since 2022, the funds have been divided between the Foundation (72.5%) and state and local government (24.5%).
According to McCuskey, beginning soon 72.5 % of future opioid settlement proceeds won through litigation with manufacturers and distributors will go directly to the state’s general revenue fund and will be spent at the direction of the state legislature.
“As my team continues to aggressively pursue all who contributed to this crisis, I want to ensure that everyone fighting alongside of us has the money to achieve their objectives,” McCuskey said last week in a news release. “As the former State Auditor and a former legislator, I have worked with both the legislature and our local governments and am confident that they know best what their communities need. I am excited to see the thoughtful and effective ways that my friends in both local governments and the Legislature use this increased funding to better the lives of their constituents.”
WVFF Director Jonathan Board said McCuskey’s announcement is about the future not the past.
“That announcement distinguishes these possible future actions from prior settlements, which are governed by the West Virginia Foundation Memorandum of Understanding, which created the foundation and established the formula for distributing opioid settlement funds,” Board said on WAJR’s “Talk of the Town.”
To date, the Foundation has received about $330 million in settlement proceeds and has earned about $25 million in investment income. Board said moving forward nothing will change with operations of the foundation, and they will continue engaging those in recovery across the six regions in the state.
“That announcement is only in relation to possible future litigation that may or may not occur in the state of West Virginia,” Board said. “So, we are moving forward as always planned and established in the original documentation and agreement.”
It took a little more than a year to establish the nonprofit, leadership, and governing structure. In the following 24 months the organization has made continuous investments into the recovery network across the six regions in the state, Board said.
“In less than three years of operational work, we’ve awarded 171 projects, soon to be $50 million across all six regions of the state of West Virginia,” Board said.
Determining the share of settlement funds that will go to local governments will now be the task of state lawmakers. The WVFF has established a network of more than 60 “expert panelists” who can offer insight into some of their successes. The foundation, board of directors, and region representatives can provide a wealth of experience and contacts moving forward to help state lawmakers in any way possible.
“These things are so important, and we haven’t always seen that done in this space,” Board said. “So, we’re highlighting these opportunities to engage with mom-and-pop shops all the way up to the largest providers.”
By the end of this year, the nonprofit will announce the awardees of the third official grant cycle opened in June that will distribute about $10 million as part of 18 grant opportunities.
“Our focus remains the same; we’re not so focused on money, we’re focused on healing the state,” Board said.