By Linda Kor The Navajo County Board of Supervisors gave their final approval to participation in the One Arizona plan as part of the opioid epidemic litigation drug settlement. Navajo County Deputy Attorney Jason Moore went before the board to finalize the memorandum of understanding that the board approved last summer. Moore provided a background on the information stating that in 2019 Navajo County joined as a plaintiff in the multi-district litigation pending in Ohio against certain opioid manufacturers and distributors. “In that case we are seeking damages for certain problems that have been caused by the opioid epidemic that has ripped the country, the state and our county as well.” The county is seeking to be compensated for the additional burden that has been placed upon the court system, the Public Defender’s Office, prosecution, probation, public safety resources and the greater need for treatment as a result of the opioid epidemic. “It’s more complex than this but in one sentence, the suit is generally based around the legal argument that the defendants in the matter misrepresented the addictive nature of drugs like Oxycontin (oxycodone), which is how many opioid users initially get introduced to opioids, get hooked and then get into more serious illegal drugs such as heroin and fentanyl.” Moore explained that last year the Arizona Attorney General and the counties formed a coalition for the state and counties in Arizona municipalities about how any potential proceeds would be distributed within the State of Arizona if and when a settlement agreement would be reached or a judgement against the plaintiffs. A plan approved last summer by the Board of Supervisors, the One Arizona plan, was that 56% of any settlement proceeds that would come to the state would go to counties and municipalities and 44% to the state. The settlement monies can only be used for drug treatment, prevention and the direct cost of combating the opioid epidemic. “One of the principals of the plan is that no local government of Arizona can receive any settlement money unless they sign on to the One Arizona plan,” said Moore. The litigation for the proceedings is shared by everyone under the plan. The agreement provides what Moore called a “bonus” from the defendants, meaning that the more counties that participate, the more monies received overall from the settlement. The defendants benefit from more participation because the more jurisdictions that sign on to the agreement, the less chance they have of another party not involved in the agreement suing them in the future. The goal of the One Arizona plan is to get 100% participation in order to access as much of that bonus as possible. At that time of the initial approval last summer, 15 counties and 90 of Arizona’s 91 municipalities joined the One Arizona agreement but it was non-binding. “With the nature of the agreement being non-binding, it needs to be finalized today,” explained Moore. He explained, “There is a group of defendants that are willing and have kind of an agreement in principle. It’s not final, but before that agreement can be finalized, we really need a finalized and binding One Arizona plan. Some of the defendants that are ready to reach an agreement are (distributors) Mckesson, Amerisourcebergen, Cardinal Health and Johnson & Johnson.” Although lawyers for other states have reported a settlement total $26 billion for all states to be paid over the course of 17 years for those who signed onto the agreement, Moore stated that he would caution about putting too much stock in the amount being stated. The deadline to approve the agreement is Nov. 10 of this year. “Navajo County’s share of all the settlement proceeds that would come to Arizona would be 1.53% of all the settlement Arizona receives” He stated that in Navajo County, because most of the population lives outside of incorporated areas, 70% of the proceeds would flow to Navajo County and then of the cities under the One Arizona plan Holbrook would receive 3.75%; Winslow, 6.19%; Snowflake, 2.94%; Taylor, 2.68%; Pinetop/Lakeside, 4.75%; and Show Low would receive 9.39%. There is no requirement that counties or municipalities get approval from the state for how the money is utilized as long as it is being used for the appropriate purposes. Cities and towns will also have the same opportunity to approve the plan and Moore asked the board to lead the way as an example. District I Supervisor Fern Benally asked about the towns in the northern portion of the county. Moore explained, “Basically, how this litigation has moved forward, a lot of tribal communities have been more seriously impacted by the opioid epidemic than non-tribal areas. Because of that, the Navajo Nation and a lot of other tribal governments have filed their own lawsuits in the multi-district litigation. They are proceeding along the lines of settlement as well, however their allocations are going to be a little bit richer in terms of what they get out of a final agreement out of the fact that they have been more heavily impacted. The money that flows to Navajo County would be spent in non-tribal areas primarily, although we can spend it wherever we want in the county. The Navajo Nation itself along with other tribal entities will be getting their own money that’s going to flow to the tribal government and any incorporated cities or towns on reservations.” With the final approval, Moore is hoping that other municipalities will also give their final approval of the One Arizona plan.
