Maximizing opioid settlement funds to local governments and regions

Colorado has reached a settlement with Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family for their role in the opioid crisis. Thanks to the collaboration of Colorado’s counties and municipalities, our state has maximized settlement proceeds from previous opioid settlements. The Colorado Attorney General’s Office is now asking that municipalities to sign-on this settlement no later than Sept. 30 so Colorado can maximize its share of these settlement funds.

Colorado is working with a firm named Rubris to collect the participation forms from Participating Local Governments. Primary contacts should have received an email July 2 titled, “NEW NATIONAL OPIOID SETTLEMENT NOTICE – PURDUE” from opioidsparticipation@rubris.com with the participation form and instructions for how to submit. Primary contacts should have also received a DocuSign email with the participation form.

Please note that there will be a separate request to sign on to other separate settlements in the coming weeks with secondary manufacturers. This will be due Oct. 8. Additional guidance will be sent regarding the sign on process for those settlements. The process will be the same as for the Purdue settlement.

Municipalities’ primary contacts can complete the participation form via DocuSign or via electronic mail. You may also contact opioidsparticipation@rubris.com for additional support in completing your form.

For Colorado to maximize its share of the settlement proceeds, this opioid settlement with Purdue and the Sackler family (like prior opioid settlements) requires Colorado’s local governments to participate in the settlement by releasing their opioid-related legal claims against the settling defendants. The Colorado Municipal League, along with Colorado Counties, Inc., collaborated with Attorney General Phil Weiser over several months beginning in 2020 to ensure Colorado received the maximum amount of settlement dollars possible and that the bulk of those dollars were distributed around the state in a coordinated manner.

All opioid settlement funds that are received as a result of the settlement will follow the same Colorado Opioid Settlement Memorandum of Understanding that was signed by all 64 counties and 248 municipalities in 2021. Completing the participation forms does not change your decision to “opt-out” to direct funds to the Regional Opioid Abatement Council, or to “opt-in” to retain your direct allocation. A local government’s choice not to participate, however, may impact and reduce the overall amount of money our state receives.

If you have any questions, please be sure to reach out directly to the Colorado Attorney General’s Office’s Opioid Response Unit at opioids@coag.gov or 720-508-6904.