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Item # 19.

Council Meeting

Meeting Date:	12/14/2021
Department:	City Manager

AGENDA CAPTION:

Consider Action on a Resolution Approving the Town's Participation in the State of Texas' Opioid Litigation Settlement and Adopting the Texas Term Sheet.

BACKGROUND:

This resolution would confirm the Town’s participation in the state of Texas’ Opioid Litigation Settlement. If the Town elects to participate in the settlement, it would be allocated approximately $58,094. The attachment titled List of Opioid Settlement Remediation Uses details the options the Town has for use of the funds. Examples include expanded training and supplies for first responders, opioid related treatment programs, and opioid prevention programs.

After years of negotiations, two proposed nationwide settlement agreements ("Settlements") have been reached which would resolve all opioid litigation brought by states and local political subdivisions against the three largest pharmaceutical distributors, McKesson, Cardinal Health, and AmerisourceBergen ("Distributors"), and one manufacturer, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and its parent company Johnson & Johnson (collectively, "Janssen").

The proposed Settlements require the Distributors and Janssen to pay billions of dollars to abate the opioid epidemic. Specifically, the Settlements require the Distributors to pay up to $21 billion over 18 years and Janssen to pay up to $5 billion over no more than nine years, for a total of $26 billion (the "Settlement Amount"). Of the Settlement Amount, approximately $22.7 billion is earmarked for use by participating states and political subdivisions to remediate and abate the impacts of the opioid crisis. The Settlements also contain injunctive relief provisions governing the opioid marketing, sale and distribution practices at the heart of the states' and subdivisions' lawsuits and further require the Distributors to implement additional safeguards to prevent diversion of prescription opioids.

Each political subdivision (city) in the state of Texas must decide whether to participate in the Settlement.

RECOMMENDATION:

Administration recommends approval.

Attachments
Resolution - Texas Opioid Settlement Participation
Texas Attorney General Opioid Settlement Summary
List of Opioid Settlement Remediation Uses