I. There is hereby established in the state treasury the opioid abatement trust fund that shall be kept distinct and separate from all other funds. All proceeds received by the state from all consumer protection settlements or judgments against opioid manufacturers or distributors shall be deposited in accordance with N.H. Rev. Stat. § 7:6-f. Any amount that would have been deposited in the general fund under 7:6-f shall, instead, be placed in the trust fund. All other opioid-related settlement funds or judgments from New Hampshire counties and all political subdivisions shall, likewise, be placed in the trust fund. The state treasurer shall be the trustee of the trust fund, and shall invest the trust fund in accordance with N.H. Rev. Stat. § 6:8. Any earnings on trust fund moneys shall be added to the trust fund. All moneys in the trust fund shall be nonlapsing and shall be continually appropriated to the state treasury. The state treasurer shall disburse funds from the trust fund solely for the purposes and in the manner set forth in N.H. Rev. Stat. § 126-A:84.
II. The treasurer shall distribute 15 percent of all funds received prior to any deposit in the consumer escrow account or the opioid abatement trust fund to the counties and the political subdivisions that filed lawsuits, on or before September 1, 2019, against opioid manufacturers, distributors and other persons identified as defendants in the multidistrict opioid litigation pending in the federal district court for the northern district of Ohio. This distribution shall occur on an annual basis. The distribution of funds shall be based on the most recent decennial census population of each qualifying county and political subdivisions. The population of any political subdivision which receives funds under this section shall not be included in the population of the county for determining the distribution to that county.

Terms Used In New Hampshire Revised Statutes 126-A:83

  • Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
  • state: when applied to different parts of the United States, may extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall include said district and territories. See New Hampshire Revised Statutes 21:4
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.