According to a report published in November by the Opioid Settlement Fund advisory board, the board and interested members of the public feel the state is not fulfilling its duty to transparently distribute opioid settlement funds. 

That sentiment was underscored by information received by Robert Kent, a former general counsel to OASAS, the Office of Addiction Services & Supports, the agency that oversees the disbursement of settlement funds.

OASAS denies its reporting is inadequate. A spokesperson sent the following statement to Capital Tonight: 

“We will continue to make this information public moving forward. The settlement agreements do not allow for this funding to be used to supplant other funding, we have not used the funding for this purpose, and there are no plans to do so in the future.”

Kent, now president of Kent Strategic Advisors, told Capital Tonight that he had a law firm review the opioid settlement agreement. The firm concluded there was a lack of mandated reported by OASAS when it comes to the use of Opioid Settlement Funds. 

At issue is whether the agency is supplanting money for addiction services with funding from the opioid settlement fund, which would be against the law. The law demands that the agency only supplement state funding with the opioid settlement funds.

The law was originally set up with a provision to ensure money from the Opioid Settlement Fund not be steered into the general fund but rather be earmarked for additional services. 

“So to protect that, or to try and protect that, they did two things: They created a board to (give) advice. They do. They also set up an annual report for the stateâ€Ĥto submit to the public,” Kent explained. “They haven’t done that.”

According to Kent, a report is critically important because it would allow the public to see how the funding is being used, and whether the agency is following the law.

“For instance, the first part of what would be in an annual report is how much does an awardee of settlement funds currently get? The Settlement Board has also been asking for this information since 2021,” Kent told Capital Tonight.

According to OASAS, it has supplied substantial information to the Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Board and to the public, including an accounting of money disbursed and the award process used, the names of recipients and the amounts awarded, and criteria for awards.