GOVERNOR Arnold I. Palacios on Friday signed into law a measure to establish an opioid settlement fund and council in the CNMI, but expressed concern about the lack of representation from the judiciary and a possible conflict of interest on his part.
Authored by House Vice Speaker Joel Camacho, House Bill 23-80 is now Public Law 23-19. It anticipates settlement from litigation against manufacturers and distributors of prescription opioid analgesics, pharmacies dispensing those medications, and related parties for alleged contributions to high rates of drug overdoses and other drug-related harms.
The new law establishes an Opioid Litigation Proceeds Fund in the CNMI Treasury for substance use disorder abatement purposes. The fund requires legislative appropriation.
P.L. 23-19 also creates an Opioid Proceeds Council composed of three members: the Commonwealth Healthcare Corp. chief executive officer or designee, the attorney general or designee and the governor or designee.
In his transmittal letter to Speaker Edmund S. Villagomez and Senate President Edith Deleon Guerrero, the governor said the Office of Attorney General raised two concerns.
First, the judiciary is not represented on the Opioid Proceeds Council so “funding may be diverted towards substance abuse programs under the executive branch rather than the judiciary’s Drug Court.”
In addition, Palacios said, the governor as a member of the council might be precluded from voting on many matters due to [a] conflict of interest since the Community Guidance Center and the HOPE Recovery Center are within the Office of the Governor.
According to P.L. 23-19, the council’s duties and powers include:
• Recommending and approving policies and procedures for administration of the council, and the application, awarding and disbursement of monies from the Opioid Litigation Proceeds Fund to be used for its purposes.
• Recommending and approving goals, objectives and their rationales, sustainability plans, and performance indicators relating to substance use disorder prevention, treatment, recovery and harm reduction efforts.
• Approving the suspension of allocation of monies from the fund to recipients found by the council to be substantially noncompliant with council policies and procedures, rules or regulations of the CNMI, or have used such awards for a purpose other than an approved purpose.
