SESSION OF 2021
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON SENATE BILL NO. 264
As Amended by Senate Committee on Ways
and Means

Brief*
SB 264, as amended, would create the Kansas Fights
Addiction Act (Act), which would address use of funds
received from opioid litigation and establish limits on future
opioid litigation by municipalities.
The bill would be in effect upon publication in the
Kansas Register.

New Funds for Abatement of Substance Abuse or
Addiction
The bill would establish in the State Treasury the
Kansas Fights Addiction Fund (KFA Fund) and the
Municipalities Fight Addiction Fund (MFA Fund), which would
be administered by the Attorney General. The bill would
require the Attorney General to remit to the State Treasurer
all moneys received by the State, pursuant to opioid litigation
in which the Attorney General is involved that is dedicated by
the terms of such litigation for the abatement or remediation
of substance abuse or addiction.
The bill would require 75 percent of these moneys to be
credited to the KFA Fund and 25 percent be credited to the
MFA Fund and would specify how expenditures are to be
made from each fund.

____________________
*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
http://www.kslegislature.org
 The bill would also establish in the State Treasury the
Prescription Monitoring Program Fund (PMP Fund), which
would be administered by the President of the State Board of
Pharmacy (President) or the President's designee.
Kansas Fights Addiction Fund
The bill would require moneys in the KFA Fund to be
expended for grants approved by the Kansas Fights Addiction
Grant Review Board (Board), as created by the bill, to
qualified applicants for projects and activities that prevent,
reduce, treat, or mitigate the effects of substance abuse and
addiction. Such grants could not supplant any other source of
funding, and no moneys from the KFA Fund could be used for
litigation costs, expenses, or attorney fees related to opioid
litigation. [Note: See section titled “Prescription Monitoring
Program Fund” for provisions related to the transfer of
moneys from the KFA Fund to the PMP Fund.]
Municipalities Fight Addiction Fund
The bill would require moneys in the MFA Fund to be
expended subject to an agreement among the Attorney
General, the Kansas Association of Counties (KAC), and the
League of Kansas Municipalities (LKM), for projects and
activities that prevent, reduce, treat, or mitigate the effects of
substance abuse and addiction, or to reimburse a
municipality for expenses related to previous substance
abuse mitigation or arising from covered conduct, which
would be defined to include any conduct covered by opioid
litigation that resulted in payment of moneys into the KFA
Fund. Moneys in the MFA Fund could also be used to
reimburse municipalities for payment of litigation costs,
expenses, or attorney fees related to opioid litigation, after the
municipality has first sought payment from applicable outside
settlement sources or settlement fee funds.
The bill would require an agreement among the Attorney
General, KAC, and LKM to determine the method for
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disbursing moneys from the MFA Fund. The bill would require
that moneys be disbursed to municipalities that have not filed
opioid litigation and municipalities that have filed opioid
litigation, but have entered into an agreement with the
Attorney General prior to January 1, 2022, to release the
municipality’s legal claims arising from covered conduct to the
Attorney General and assign any future legal claims arising
from covered conduct to the Attorney General.
Prescription Monitoring Program Fund
The bill would create law in the Prescription Monitoring
Program Act to establish the PMP Fund and would require all
expenditures made from the PMP Fund to be approved by
the President or the President’s designee and for the purpose
of operating the Prescription Monitoring Program (K-TRACS).
Expenditures from the PMP Fund would be made in
accordance with appropriation acts upon warrants of the
Director of Accounts and Reports issued pursuant to
vouchers approved by the President or the President’s
designee.
The bill would require, on July 1 of each year or as soon
as moneys are available, the Director of Accounts and
Reports to transfer $200,000 from the KFA Fund to the PMP
Fund, except no transfer would be made for any fiscal year if
there are unsufficient unencumbered moneys in the KFA
Fund.

Kansas Fights Addiction Grant Review Board
The bill would establish the Board under the jurisdiction
of the Attorney General.
Membership
The bill would require at least one member of the Board
to reside in each of Kansas’ congressional districts. The

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Board would consist of 11 members with expertise in the
prevention, reduction, treatment, or mitigation of the effects of
substance abuse and addiction, as follows:
● Two members appointed by the Attorney General,
one of whom would be designated as chairperson
and at least one of whom would be appointed by
the Behavioral Sciences Regulatory Board;
● One member appointed by the Governor;
● One member appointed by the President of the
Senate;
● One member appointed by the Speaker of the
House of Representatives;
● One member appointed by the Minority Leader of
the Senate;
● One member appointed by the Minority Leader of
the House of Representatives;
● One member appointed by LKM;
● One member appointed by KAC;
● One member appointed by the Kansas County and
District Attorneys Association; and
● One member appointed by the Association of
Community Mental Health Centers of Kansas.
Each member would serve at the pleasure of the
appointing authority.
Duties and Operation
The bill would require the Board to receive and consider
applications for grants of money from the KFA Fund and

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would provide a list of five mandatory and three permissive
factors to be considered or applied in awarding grants.
The affirmative vote of six members would be required
to approve a grant. The Board could adopt rules and
procedures for its operation, conduct hearings, receive
testimony, and gather information to assist in its powers,
duties, and functions. Members would not receive
compensation or expenses for serving on the Board, would
be required to file a statement of substantial interest, and
would be prohibited from participating in the consideration of
any grant application for which such member has a conflict of
interest.
The bill would require the Attorney General to provide
administrative support for the Board and to administer,
monitor, and assure compliance with grant conditions, and
would allow the Attorney General to enter into an agreement
with the Sunflower Foundation to provide such support and
administration. The bill would establish provisions regarding
transfer of moneys, fees, and earnings on moneys that could
be included in such agreement. The bill would state the
Attorney General could take any action necessary to ensure
the greatest possible recovery from opioid litigation and to
seek funds for the KFA Fund and the MFA Fund.
The bill would require, not later than March 1 of each
year, the Board to submit to the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, the President of the Senate, the Governor,
and the Attorney General a report of the Board’s activities
during the prior calendar year, including:
● An accounting of moneys depositing into and
expended from the KFA Fund;
● A summary of each approved grant, including
certain specified details;


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 ● An explanation of how the Board’s actions during
the year have complied with the bill’s requirements;
and
● Any other relevant information the Board deems
appropriate.
Responsibility for Costs
The bill would provide the Attorney General and each
municipality would be solely responsible for paying all costs,
expenses, and attorney fees arising from opioid litigation
brought under their respective authorities, including any
attorney fees owed to private legal counsel, and may seek
payment or reimbursement of such costs, expenses, and
attorney fees from moneys not deposited in the KFA Fund.

Limitation on Municipal Litigation
The bill would prohibit municipalities, on and after
January 1, 2021, from filing or becoming a party to opioid
litigation in any court without the prior approval of the Attorney
General. The bill would require any municipality that filed
opioid litigation on or after January 1, 2021, through the
effective date of the Act, to withdraw from such litigation,
unless the municipality receives approval from the Attorney
General to maintain such litigation. The bill would specify
these provisions would not apply to or affect any municipality
that filed or became a party to opioid litigation litigation in
court prior to January 1, 2021.

Definitions
In addition to “covered conduct,” the bill would define
other relevant terms, including “moneys that are received,”
“opioid litigation,” and “qualified applicant.”

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Effective Date
The bill would be in effect upon publication in the
Kansas Register.

Background
This bill was introduced by the Senate Committee on
Ways and Means at the request of Senator Claeys on behalf
of the Attorney General.
[Note: The bill contains provisions similar to those of HB
2412.]

Senate Committee on Ways and Means
In the Senate Committee hearing on March 24, 2021,
the Attorney General and representatives of the Association
of Community Mental Health Centers of Kansas and the
Kansas Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs testified as
proponents, stating the bill would establish a mechanism for
distributing funds received from litigation against opioid
manufacturers and others who contributed to the opioid
addiction crisis. Under settlement terms, such funds must be
used for drug treatment and addiction abatement. The
Attorney General stated the provisions restricting the ability of
governmental entities to bring future opioid litigation against
settling defendants would maximize the amount of money
Kansas could receive in some future settlements.
Representatives of the Behavioral Health Association of
Kansas and the Kansas County and District Attorneys
Association provided written-only proponent testimony.
Representatives of the following entities provided neutral
testimony:


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 ● City of Overland Park and LKM provided a
proposed amendment regarding municipalities with
separate opioid litigation;
● State Board Board of Pharmacy requested funding
for K-TRACS.
Opponent testimony was provided by one private
citizen who encouraged limited government intervention
related to the subject of the bill.
On March 29, 2021, the Senate Committee amended
the bill to:
● Establish the MFA Fund and add related
provisions, based on the suggestions of the
municipality representatives;
● Adjust the appointment authority regarding the
members of the Board, based on suggestions of
the Kansas Association of Addiction Professionals;
and
● Establish the PMP Fund and add a provision to
require an annual transfer of moneys from the KFA
Fund to the PMP Fund, based on the suggestions
of the State Board of Pharmacy.
Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on the bill as introduced, the Office of the Attorney
General (OAG) indicates it is likely the funds recovered by
Kansas through opioid litigation could be in the millions of
dollars. Because the bill allows the OAG to contract with the
Sunflower Foundation for administration of grant funds, the
administrative costs to the OAG would be negligible and
could be absorbed within existing resources.

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 The Office of Judicial Administration indicates enactment
of the bill could impact expenditures because it could force
the end of some opioid litigation or prohibit more such
litigation, resulting in fewer court cases. The bill could also
reduce docket fee revenues, but a fiscal effect cannot be
estimated.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment
indicates enactment of the bill would result in the agency
requiring $67,009 in FY 2021 and $69,114 for FY 2022 from
the KFA Fund to support 1.0 FTE position to help coordinate
the program.
The KAC indicates it would receive funds from grants to
address opioid addiction and associated costs, but it cannot
estimate a fiscal effect. The LKM states enactment of the bill
could have both positive and negative effects on cities,
depending on litigation status and whether a city is awarded a
grant, but it is unable to estimate a fiscal effect.
Any fiscal effect associated with enactment of the bill is
not reflected in The FY 2022 Governor’s Budget Report.
Kansas Fights Addiction Act; opioid litigation; Attorney General; Kansas Fights
Addiction Fund; Municipalities Fight Addiction Fund; Prescription Monitoring Program
Fund; K-TRACS; Kansas Fights Addiction Grant Review Board; substance abuse or
addiction; grants; Sunflower Foundation


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