West Virginia lawmakers will decide how future opioid-settlement money is spent, not the West Virginia First Foundation. Local recoveries will be controlled by mayors and county commissioners. Opioid-settlement funds are court and settlement payments from drug companies to address opioid harm. Past money flowed mainly through the Foundation, which funds treatment and prevention programs, while future money will go through elected officials and the state budget.
Official resources:
- Read the official notice from Wv — Use this primary source to verify the official announcement.
- Read the official notice from Mailchi — Use this primary source to verify the official announcement.
Table of Contents
- What changed for future settlements?
- How was earlier settlement money divided?
- Does this affect money already awarded?
- How can residents track local spending?
What changed for future settlements?
Attorney General JB McCuskey announced the shift on Aug. 18, 2026. According to the WV Attorney General press release, future state recoveries will be allocated by the Legislature and local recoveries by mayors and county commissioners, rather than under the old agreement split Attorney General's allocation announcement.
Future state money will go into the general revenue fund. According to Forever Cumberland reporting, lawmakers will then decide how it is spent, moving spending power from the Foundation to elected officials report on the funding shift. This change applies only to new or future cases. Money already received by the Foundation stays there.
How was earlier settlement money divided?
Earlier settlements totaled roughly $980 million paid over 18 years. About 72.5% went to the West Virginia First Foundation, 24.5% to local governments and 3% to the Attorney General's Office, according to Radio Free Hub City and Mountain State Spotlight reporting county spending-rules report. The Legislature created the Foundation in the 2023 session through Senate Bill 674 as the main vehicle for distributing settlement funds.
It was designed to keep most money focused on drug recovery and prevention. The Foundation later reported awarding over $34 million in grants while having access to nearly $379 million. One approval included $4 million for WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute treatment tools.
Does this affect money already awarded?
No. Foundation director Jonathan Board said its roughly $330 million received to date stays with the Foundation and its work continues. Current grants, treatment projects and prevention programs are not transferred to the Legislature. That distinction matters for service providers.
Groups with Foundation grants still answer to the Foundation. Groups seeking future state funds will need to watch legislative decisions instead. One large future payment is West Virginia's share of the June 2025 $7.4 billion Purdue Pharma and Sackler settlement. The state is due up to $53 million on a faster nine-year schedule, compared with 15 years elsewhere, because of disproportionate harm.
How can residents track local spending?
Local governments control the local share, but oversight is uneven. Counties receiving that share set their own spending rules with little centralized monitoring of qualifying uses.
That makes local records the key source. Residents concerned about addiction treatment, recovery housing, prevention or emergency response should follow city and county decisions.
- Find your county commission or city meeting agenda and minutes
- Ask which opioid-settlement account funds a proposal
- Ask whether the use is treatment, prevention, recovery support or another qualifying purpose
- Compare approved grants with actual spending reports when posted