CLEVELAND, Ohio — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and Attorney General Dave Yost are on board with a proposed plan on how to divvy up settlement money the state may receive from drug companies from lawsuits filed over the opioid crisis, a person who represents cities and villages told cleveland.com.
However, the plan does not yet have the required widespread support among local government leaders, so negotiations and changes to the plan are expected to continue.
Cities and counties throughout Ohio have filed suit against drugmakers, distributors and pharmacies over their role in precipitating the opioid crisis that led to a wave of death and addiction here and across the country. Cuyahoga and Summit counties have settled some of their cases, which are among the thousands of lawsuits consolidated before a federal judge in Cleveland.
The negotiations for the plan between Yost, DeWine and attorneys for local governments were ongoing for months and come after the attorney general made arguments in court that his office should administer all of the money that results from settlements and court judgments in the opioid cases from Ohio. Elected officials leaders have balked at those arguments.
The plan is detailed in a proposed memorandum of understanding and details how money would be split throughout the state.
In its current form, local governments would get 30 percent of the money, which could be used for past and future expenses associated with the opioid crisis, said Kent Scarrett, who represents cities and villages as executive director of the Ohio Municipal League. The state would get 15 percent, said Scarrett, who was briefed on the plan.
The remaining 55 percent would be for a foundation that would pay for addiction treatment programs. The foundation’s money would also benefit local governments, Scarrett said.
The plan would also address fees for the private lawyers representing local governments, which have been a major sticking point for Yost throughout the opioid litigation.
Negotiations between the state and attorneys for city and county governments began in late October, shortly after drug manufacturers and distributors reached more than $325 million worth of settlements with Cuyahoga and Summit counties to scuttle what would have been the nation’s first federal opioid trial in Cleveland.
The talks were designed to address how the money would get doled out and to ensure it’s used for expenses solely related to the opioid epidemic.
In addition to coming up with a plan, DeWine - who hosted the first negotiations at the Governor’s Mansion in Bexley - also sought to ease tensions between local governments and Yost.
The new plan was hashed out during continued meetings. A meeting Tuesday at the Ohio Department of Public Safety headquarters in Columbus was designed to present the plan to local leaders. Cuyahoga County Executive Armond Budish and Summit County Executive Ilene Shapiro were in attendance, though neither county is expected to receive money from companies with which they previously settled.
It was not immediately clear whether the plan would garner the support it requires from the vast majority of local governments. Scarrett said he is aware that not all local government are on board and that some may request tweaks.
He said his organization is not taking a position on the plan and that it’s up to each community to decide whether they are on board. However, other local governments, as well as Yost and DeWine would have to sign off on any changes, Scarrett said.
Yost’s office declined comment, while a spokesman for DeWine said that discussions are continuing and the governor “remains optimistic.”
Budish said at a Cuyahoga County Council meeting Tuesday that progress was made and discussions would continue.
Shapiro spokeswoman Greta Johnson officials would “continue to discuss it and we do think that Ohio having a plan to place is important for recovery for the state.”
Cuyahoga and Summit counties are set to go to trial in November for their lawsuits against several pharmacy chains.
Cleveland.com reporter Courtney Astolfi contributed to this story.
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