Opioid Abatement Authority finance committee approves FY27–28 budget after reporting new Albertsons settlement and $121.3M cash on hand

Delegate Brianna Su, treasurer and chair of the Opioid Abatement Authority finance committee, presided over the committee’s approval of the OA’s proposed FY27–28 budget and heard a financial briefing from Dr. Adam Rosatelli, the authority’s director of finance.

Rosatelli told the committee a recently announced settlement with Albertsons — the grocery company that owns Safeway — is expected to send about $16.7 million to Virginia, with approximately $9.1 million of that estimated to flow to the OA over nine years. “The estimated total amount to Virginia from this settlement is about $16.7 million, of which 9.1 million will come to the OA paid out over 9 years,” Rosatelli said. He cautioned the timetable and annual disbursements have not yet been finalized.

Including that settlement and additional smaller settlements that are nearing completion, Rosatelli said the OA’s total estimated settlement receipts now exceed $629 million, with $213.9 million deposited into the opioid abatement fund to date. For the FY26 accounting period ending May 31, Rosatelli reported the OA’s beginning fund balance on July 1 was $126.1 million; fiscal year-to-date inflows from settlement payments and interest were $36.7 million, and year‑to‑date outflows (state and local grant distributions and administrative costs) totaled about $41.6 million, leaving approximately $121.3 million in cash on hand.

On investment returns, Rosatelli recapped a 2023 feasibility analysis that found securitization or an alternate investment strategy impractical and said the OA continues to invest its share as part of the Commonwealth’s pooled assets managed by the Department of the Treasury. He said the OA is projected to earn a roughly 4.4% return (about $6 million) for the fiscal year and that interest income is expected to exceed the OA’s FY26 administrative expenses by more than $2.1 million.

Rosatelli also outlined recommended grant awards: about $4.4 million in individual-distribution awards covering 78 applications (61 renewals and 17 new projects), and cooperative project funding that brings OA-applied funding to roughly $30.9 million when including match. The staff-recommended total for awards across all categories was $35.2 million, with the western and southwestern regions receiving the largest shares of recommended funding.

Following discussion, the committee chair moved to approve the proposed FY27–28 OA budget; the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote with no recorded opposition. The committee’s recommendation will be forwarded to the OA board of directors for further consideration.

Next steps: staff will share the finalized budget package with the full board and continue to monitor the General Assembly’s budget negotiations, which staff noted could affect core appropriations if a so-called “skinny budget” were adopted.