Minnesota House Passes $300 Million Opioid Settlement Bill

(KNSI) — One day after the GOP-controlled Minnesota Senate passed it unanimously, the DFL-led House followed suit, sending the $300 million National Opioid Settlement bill to Governor Tim Walz’s desk Friday.

The money is part of a larger $26 billion settlement the state signed last summer with manufacturer Johnson & Johnson and distributors AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson to resolve more than 3,000 lawsuits against the four companies.

In 2020, a record 678 Minnesotans died due to an opioid overdose.

“Unfortunately, there is a tremendous amount of work … that needs to continue in stopping the illicit drugs like heroin and fentanyl in our communities,” Republican Sen. Julie Rosen of Fairmont, the bill’s chief author in the Senate, said on the floor before the vote. “But for now, we can be assured that there is compensation for the abuse we have endured at the hands of these large companies.”

Democratic Representative Liz Olson of Duluth is the chief House author of the bill and says of the passage, “Tragic deaths as a result of opioid overdoses continue to be a crisis in our state, with the epidemic, unfortunately, getting worse. This legislation will enable cities, counties, Tribal governments, and the state to use funding from this historic settlement effectively and efficiently to continue combating the crisis as quickly as dollars come in. We were all thrilled to see accountability last year in the form of a significant settlement with drugmakers, and now, we can bolster our efforts to prevent senseless tragedies and heartbreak due to this crisis.”

The Association of Minnesota Counties, the League of Minnesota Cities, the Coalition of Greater Minnesota Cities, the State of Minnesota, and the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office reached an agreement – reflected in the bill – calling for counties and cities to receive 75% of settlement funds with 25% going to the state.

Minnesota will receive the money over the next 18 years, with larger payment amounts frontloaded in the first five years.

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