State and local governments to receive opioid settlement funds; local councils will decide spending

Speaker 1 said at a press event that proceeds from recent opioid-related recoveries "must be used to address the opioid epidemic" and that, "roughly speaking, half the money goes to the state" while the other half goes to local jurisdictions such as cities and counties.

He cited several local allocation examples: Pierce County, $31,000,000; Tacoma, $14,000,000; Spokane County, $24,000,000; Spokane (city), $13,000,000; King County, $60,000,000; and City of Seattle, $28,000,000. He added that "other jurisdictions" will also receive funds.

Speaker 1 underscored that the amounts already reported do not include proceeds from one large case that is "still being mitigated," saying "$1.1 billion" has been recovered to date but that the pending litigation must be resolved before that additional money can be counted. He said the office’s role is to secure and deliver resources to communities and that, once distributed, local city and county councils "will make those decisions" about how to spend their shares and may choose to pool resources when appropriate.

The announcement closed with Speaker 1 saying the office will continue bringing cases to try to obtain more resources for the state’s opioid response. After the remarks, Speaker 1 opened the floor to questions from the media.