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HARRISBURG — Records obtained by Spotlight Pennsylvania and WESA reveal the first of its kind on how Pennsylvania county officials have spent or plan to spend tens of millions of dollars received in opioid settlements. This is the first time that we have provided such extensive research.
News organizations are still analyzing records obtained from dozens of public agencies. But before the oversight board makes a public decision on whether spending is appropriate, it makes spending reports widely available to ensure the public can see how the county and prosecutor’s office spent their money. .
Using the state’s Right-to-Know law, the newsroom is seeking coverage from all 67 Pennsylvania counties and 10 district attorney’s offices, which are entitled to funding based on their role in the case.
These institutions have been approved to receive $141 million in settlements in 2022 and 2023, and are expected to receive hundreds of millions more in the coming years.
Counties had until March 15 to submit detailed spending reports to the Pennsylvania Opioid Misuse and Addiction Reduction Trust. Members of this group operated in secret and prevented members of the public from speaking at meetings. This is the first time such a report has been made by Trust.
The 13-member Oversight Board will withhold funds and ultimately revoke funding if board members determine that the county has improperly spent the funds, based on a strategy outlined in a settlement document known as Exhibit E. has the authority to reduce However, the potential applications are wide-ranging and open to interpretation.
Despite the trust’s obligation to follow the state’s public meetings law, board members in February first reviewed these spending reports in private small groups before making recommendations to the full board. Approved the plan. Trust Chairman Tom VanKirk said in February that the board plans to release spending information “once we have the opportunity to vote.”
In the meantime, these reports, obtained by Spotlight PA and WESA, provide insight into what trust members vote on, how the county has spent the money and, in some cases, what its future plans are. provide insight. About 30 public agencies provided relevant records in the first few days after newsrooms requested public records from counties across the state.
In February, in response to questions from Spotlight PA and WESA, the trust declined to say when the full board would meet to consider the recommendations, nor did it say when it would publish spending information.
In a March 21 news release issued hours after Spotlight PA and WESA again requested details from the trust and informed the group of its plans to publish expenditure reports, the trust announced that it would not be able to provide a limited number of expenditures. Provided details.
Preliminary estimates, based on reports received by the trust, indicate that counties and other local governments in Pennsylvania have spent or committed more than $70 million allocated by the trust to address opioid corrections, according to a news release. It is shown. The news release also said the trust’s small working group will review the report in April.
The trust’s next scheduled public meeting is May 2.
About requests
Requesting records from 67 counties is a large and complex task. The newsroom submitted the request using the state Public Records Office’s database and individual government her websites.
For uploaded files, the newsroom has redacted certain personal contact information.
If you are a county employee not listed above and believe your records request did not reach the appropriate person within your agency, or if you have provided a copy of your report and are not listed here, or If you have submitted a copy of your report, please contact Spotlight PA reporter Ed Mahon to share your latest report. emahon@spotlightpa.org.
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