SAN ANTONIO – Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said Monday he doesn’t think state officials will be fair when it comes to distributing money to counties under a possible opioid lawsuit settlement.
In a memo sent to county commissioners, Wolff said Bexar County is expected to be allocated $7 million, which he said is way short of what the county needs and deserves.
Bexar County filed a lawsuit in May 2018 against dozens of manufacturers and distributors of opioids for negligence and deceptive trade practices. Wolff said the county’s aggressive stance against opioids helped it get one of the few trial settings in the country. Trial is scheduled for April 2021.
Texas announces plan to distribute funds from imminent opioid lawsuit settlement
But Wolff said if the recent distribution of COVID-19 funding the county received from the state is any indication, he’s not expecting a fair share of the allocation pie.
“They took the virus funds and spread it out across the state. We got 28% of the funding when we had 69% of the COVID-19 cases. if they treat it like coronavirus funds, then we will not be fairly compensated," Wolff said in an interview with KSAT 12 News.
The proposed settlement will be discussed during an executive session of the commissioner’s court Tuesday.
You can read Wolff’s memo below.
Memo to Commissioners Court... by David Ibanez on Scribd
You can read the proposed settlement sheet below.
TX Opioid Abatement Fund Co... by David Ibanez on Scribd