Opioid Settlement Funds Reporting & Record Keeping FAQ
(Capitalized terms not defined here are defined in the One Arizona Agreement)
1. What is the deadline to submit the reporting spreadsheet?
a. For funds received from Janssen or the Distributer Settling Defendants, spreadsheets for each Region (county) are due to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office each year on July 31. We recommend that cities and towns reach out to their county to determine what date they need the city spreadsheets submitted so that there is sufficient time to combine and submit the reports to the Attorney General’s Office.
2. How long are Local Governments required to keep documents and records related to opioid settlement fund expenditures?
a. Five (5) years.
3. Do I have to spend settlement funds in the same year they are remitted?
a. No, there is no requirement to spend the settlement funds immediately upon receipt, and we understand that it may be beneficial for smaller governments to accumulate a few payments before putting the funds toward an appropriate Approved Purpose. However, we do not recommend ‘banking’ funds for too long, as that would not be in the spirit of the One Arizona Agreement to get these funds into Arizona communities as soon as possible.
4. What are the options if a Local Government doesn’t want the funds and/or to deal with compliance obligations?
a. We understand that some smaller governments may not have the existing infrastructure to put opioid settlement funds to their best use. If that is the case for your Local Government, we recommend reaching out to your county in order to enter into an agreement to reallocate the funds back to the county. With this act, it will relinquish the Local Government from all reporting and record keeping requirements. You can download a template assignment form here that you can adapt for your purposes.
5. If a Local Government enters into an agreement to reallocate its funds back to the county, do any reporting or record keeping obligations remain?
a. No. In that case, the Local Government would be relinquished from all reporting and record keeping requirements. The county would then be responsible for reporting how the funds were spent.
6. What happens if the State or Local Government do not use funds for Approved Purposes?
a. State and Local Governments should use all funds distributed through the One Arizona Agreement only on Approved Purposes. If they do not, an injunction could be issued prohibiting them from spending funds on non-Approved Purposes and requiring the entity to return the monies that it spent on non-Approved Purposes. Additionally, while such an action is pending, distribution of funds to that entity will be suspended.
7. If funds are deposited into an interest-bearing account, do we need to report said interest?
a. No. Interest does not need to be reported. However, we would recommend you spend any interest earned in compliance with the Approved Uses outlined in the One Arizona Agreement.
8. If I have further questions, who can I contact?
a. Please email OneAZQuestions@KellerRohrback.com or use the contact form on this website to send us any questions you have on the reporting and record keeping requirements under the One Arizona Agreement.