Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said Thursday that she will begin directing the state’s $140 million of opioid deals into general revenue, saying lawmakers should have a say in where the money goes.
Rutledge, who leaves office next month and will become lieutenant governor, also recommended that lawmakers create a commission to brainstorm ideas on where to spend the settlement money.
“When you have an amount of money like this of more than $140 million, (lawmakers) are going to be the best to decide how to use it and how to set up treatment facilities across the state,” Rutledge said at a news conference. conference.
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Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced the reallocation of $140 million in opioid settlement funds.
Rutledge said the measure would not allow the money to be used for tax cuts or programs not allowed in opioid agreements, which typically restrict money for treatment-related programs.
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Rutledge’s announcement does not guarantee that all the money will go to general revenue, as the state will receive some funds from the settlement after she leaves office next month. Tim Griffin, the state’s current lieutenant governor, succeeds Rutledge next year.
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Griffin said in a statement that when he takes office next month he will conduct “a thorough review and evaluation of the office’s handling of the settlement funds.”
