Walmart paying $62.6 million to Washington as a result of Attorney General’s opioid initiative
SEATTLE — Attorney General Bob Ferguson today announced that more than $60 million to combat the fentanyl epidemic will soon be coming to Washington. These resources are a result of Ferguson’s investigation into Walmart for its role fueling the opioid epidemic as a pharmacy. All eligible local governments signed onto the Attorney General’s $62.6 million resolution. The resources will be split equally between the state and local jurisdictions across the state.
This resolution is part of the $1.1 billion the Attorney General’s Office has recovered from 11 companies that fueled the opioid epidemic. Under the terms of the legally binding resolution, these resources must be used to combat the opioid epidemic, including fentanyl. Washingtonians can use this chart to see what their local government will receive to combat the opioid epidemic. The chart includes the additional Walmart funding, 97% of which it will pay in the next few months. The Legislature determines how to spend the state’s allocation of these resources.
The Attorney General’s Office has upcoming trials against one opioid manufacturer and multiple pharmacies that helped fuel the epidemic.
“This is real money that funds real resources that will save lives,” Ferguson said. “But I am not done here. My office still litigates active cases, which we will use to hold all companies that fueled the opioid epidemic accountable. My team is working to bring even more money and resources back to affected Washington communities.”
Since all of the eligible local governments signed onto the resolution with Walmart, Washington is guaranteed the maximum amount of $62.6 million. The local governments are dividing their share of the proceeds using the same formula as the earlier opioid distributor resolution.
Half of the money from the Walmart resolution will be paid to eligible Washington cities and counties, with the first payment to be made in the next few months. The remainder of the money goes to the state. All of this money must be used to fund opioid remediation.
A full, updated list of what counties and cities will receive from all the finalized resolutions so far is available. The top five counties, including their local governments, are:
King County, $112.5 million
Pierce County, $52 million
Snohomish County, $51 million
Spokane County, $38.3 million
Clark County, $29.3 million
As part of its resolution, Walmart will tightly monitor opioid prescriptions and prevent patients from seeking multiple prescriptions.
Washington state’s money comes from an overall $3.1 billion multistate resolution with Walmart.
Support already flowing to Washington
In October 2022, all 125 eligible local governments signed onto a $518 million resolution stemming from Ferguson’s earlier lawsuits against opioid distributors. The state received its first two payments of $82 million from the three largest opioid distributors. The more recent resolutions with the pharmacies and manufacturers will augment future payments. These five new resolutions will lead to payments of approximately $45 million to the state in the next few months.
Local governments will determine how to spend their share.
The resolution with Teva, one of the opioid manufacturers, will bring in naloxone kits that state agencies will distribute statewide. In 2024 and 2025, Washington state will receive a total of 54,120 naloxone kits, with each kit containing two nasal spray devices. Naloxone is a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose.
The Legislature will determine how the state share is allocated in communities around the state. In the 2023 legislative session, the Legislature allocated $64.1 million from the opioid payments. Examples of legislative support included:
$18,168,000 for prevention, treatment and recovery support services to address and remediate the opioid epidemic.
$15,447,000 to tribes and urban Indian health programs for opioid and overdose response activities.
$5,000,000 for the Department of Health to expand the distribution of naloxone through overdose education and a distribution program.
$4,000,000 for the authority to provide short-term housing vouchers for individuals with substance use disorders.
All spending decisions must be consistent with the state Opioid Response Plan. Recoveries can be used to address the Fentanyl epidemic.
Approved strategies include:
Improving and expanding treatment for opioid use disorder.
Supporting individuals in treatment and recovery, including providing comprehensive wrap-around services to individuals with opioid use disorder, including housing, transportation, education, job placement, job training or childcare.
Addressing the needs of pregnant women and their families, including those with babies with neonatal disorder.
Preventing opioid misuse, overprescribing and overdoses through, among other strategies, school-based and youth-focused programs, public education campaigns, increased availability and distribution of naloxone and other drugs that treat overdoses, additional training and enhancements to the prescription drug monitoring program. Supporting first responders.---WA AG
IN OTHER STATE NEWS HEADLINES:
Attorney General’s Office files criminal charges against individual alleged to have baited and killed bears and elk in North Bend.
SEATTLE — Today the Attorney General’s Office filed 32 criminal charges against Jason Smith of North Bend for illegal hunting. The charges, which include two felonies, 27 gross misdemeanors and three misdemeanors, allege that Smith unlawfully baited and killed bears and elk, and unlawfully hunted deer.--WAAG
US Dept. of Energy awards Washington $23.4 million to strengthen and modernize critical electric infrastructure--WA COMMERCE
Introducing the Puget Sound Benthos Toolbox
An interactive reference tool focused on sediment-dwelling invertebrates.
Puget Sound is home to many types of invertebrates, each playing a different role in the sediment ecosystem. Taxonomically identifying them to genus and species can give us information about the health of the communities in which they live…. but we can’t do it without an arsenal of specialized tools.--DOE
WDFW and Kalispel Tribe of Indians host free National Hunting and Fishing Day event Sept. 30
SPOKANE – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) is partnering with the Kalispel Tribe of Indians to host the annual free National Hunting and Fishing Day celebration on Saturday, Sept. 30.--WDFW
Vancouver Wildlife League and WDFW partner to host youth pheasant hunt Sept. 16-17.
VANCOUVER - Youth hunters in the Vancouver area will once again have a special opportunity to hunt pheasants this month thanks to an ongoing collaboration between the Vancouver Wildlife League (VWL) and Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW).--WDFW
2) NEWS FROM OUR CONGRESSIONAL DELEGATION:
Burdensome Indian Tariffs on WA Apples, Chickpeas, Lentils Finally Ending Tomorrow
Cantwell led calls for end retaliatory tariffs, raised the issue in person with Indian PM Modi in February
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) announced that India will end retaliatory tariffs placed on American apples and pulse crops in response to 2018 Trump Administration tariffs. In June, President Biden reached an agreement with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to lift the tariffs. Tomorrow, India will officially rescind the retaliatory tariffs.--PRESS STATEMENT
Cantwell Statement on Cancellation of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Drilling Leases
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), released this statement following the Biden Administration’s announcement of the cancellation of oil and gas leases on the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge---PRESS STATEMENT
Murray Remarks on Funding the Government and Avoiding an Unnecessary Shutdown
Washington, D.C. — ICYMI, at today’s Senate Democrats’ weekly stakeout press conference, Senator Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, spoke about how the Senate Appropriations Committee has provided a clear bipartisan roadmap to fund the government, passing all 12 of their funding bills out of Committee with overwhelming bipartisan support—proving there is zero reason for chaos or a shutdown. In her remarks, Murray also emphasized the urgency of addressing the child care crisis as critical relief funding is set to expire at the end of this month, and reiterated her support for President Biden’s full supplemental funding request to support our Ukrainian allies, provide relief for natural disasters, and stop the flow of fentanyl.--PRESS STATEMENT
Senator Murray Speaks on Senate Floor about Wildfires in Eastern WA, Need for Additional Investments in Wildfire Prevention Including Supplemental Funding for FEMA, Preventing Firefighter Pay Cut
ICYMI: Senator Murray Hosts Wildfire Briefing in Leavenworth, Hears From Chelan County Firefighters and U.S. Forest Service on Wildfire Landscape in WA --PRESS STATE
3) WORLD, NATION, and BUSINESS:
WORLD:
Deep Changes Must Be Made to Make Global Frameworks More Representative of Today’s Economic, Political Realities, Secretary-General Tells ASEAN-UN Summit
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the thirteenth Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)-United Nations Summit, in Jakarta today:--UN PRESS RELEASE
Peacekeeping Missions Stand as ‘Important Deterrent to an Even Grimmer Reality’, Senior United Nations Official Underlines in Briefing to Security Council
While peacekeeping is not a panacea for converging crises, it does support political processes and protect civilians, the United Nations senior peace operations official told the Security Council today, as members considered the factors necessary for the success of such operations amidst the drawdown of the UN’s presence in Mali and the questioning of its utility in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.--UN PRESS RELEASE
Remarks at a UN Security Council Briefing on Peace and Security in Ukraine.
" These sham elections in no way represent a legitimate expression of the will of the people of Ukraine, who have consistently resisted and bravely fought Russia’s efforts to change Ukraine’s borders by force for nearly 19 months. These Potemkin elections are an affront to the principles enshrined in the UN Charter. The Ukrainian people are fighting to expel Russia’s forces from their territory."---USUN
Secretary Antony J. Blinken Remarks to the Press.
SECRETARY BLINKEN: Well, good afternoon, everyone, and thanks for being along with us today.
We have seen a number of things today and I think what strikes me the most is this: First, we’ve seen the horrific human consequences of the Russian aggression against Ukraine. And it’s so easy to sometimes get lost in abstractions, numbers, how many people lost their lives or were wounded, what the larger effects are.--US STATE DEPT.
Matching China Means Letting U.S. Industry Iterate, Develop Technologies.
The best way for the U.S. to meet the pacing challenge posed by China is to let U.S. industry do what it does best: develop new technologies. The government's role there, said the deputy under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, is to create the best conditions possible to allow those technologies to scale. --DOD
NATION:
Hicks Discusses Replicator Initiative.
Hicks spoke at the Defense News Conference in Arlington, Virginia, and outlined the steps the department must take to innovate and field new capabilities that will continue U.S. dominance in military affairs. --DOD
Justice Department Secures Settlement Protecting Employment Rights of Servicemembers.
Agreement Secures Promotion Opportunity and Backpay for Chicago Firefighter and U.S. Army Reservist after Deployment--DOJ
U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights Resolves Restraint and Seclusion Compliance Review of Spectrum Academy in Utah.--DEPT. of EDUCATION
RELEASE OF HUD HOUSING COUNSELING PROGRAM HANDBOOK WILL BETTER EQUIP HOUSING COUNSELING PARTNERS TO SUPPORT RENTERS, HOMEBUYERS, AND HOMEOWNERS
First Set of Comprehensive Updates to Housing Counseling Program Handbook provide participants with the latest guidance to assist consumers with their housing needs.--HUD
HUD Makes Available $256 Million in New Choice Neighborhoods Funding
Future awardees will revitalize public and/or HUD-assisted housing, surrounding neighborhoods.
WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced the availability of $256 million in Choice Neighborhoods Implementation (CNI) Grants funding to communities across the country. The CNI Grants will ultimately transform public and other HUD-assisted housing, while investing in the surrounding neighborhood and resident services. Public housing authorities, local governments, and/or Tribal entities are eligible and encouraged to apply for these transformative grants of up to $50 million each. --hud
BUSINESS:
At the Africa Food Systems Forum, USDA Announces Major Partnerships in Africa.--USDA
Justice Department Announces First Criminal Resolution Involving the Illicit Sale and Transport of Iranian Oil in Violation of U.S. Sanctions--DOJ
The Federal Reserve’s Role in Supporting Responsible Innovation
Vice Chair for Supervision Michael S. Barr
At the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia Seventh Annual Fintech Conference, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania--THE FED
IRS announces sweeping effort to restore fairness to tax system with Inflation Reduction Act funding; new compliance efforts focused on increasing scrutiny on high-income, partnerships, corporations and promoters abusing tax rules on the books.--IRS
FTC Finalizes Order with 1Health.io Over Charges it Failed to Protect Privacy and Security of DNA Data and Unfairly Changed its Privacy Policy--FTC
IN FOCUS and LOCAL MEETINGS FOR 9/9/23
