Iowa Senate Democrats on Thursday criticized the attorney general’s office for not distributing money from the Opioid Settlement Fund to organizations focused on treating and preventing opioid addiction.
Iowa has received $365 million in settlement funds through multiple lawsuits brought by federal prosecutors against opioid manufacturers, distributors, pharmacies and other parties related to the opioid crisis. The state has control of $186 million of that settlement, with the remaining $179 million going directly to Iowa counties. These funds will be released between fiscal years 2021 and 2039.
For the state share, lawmakers created the Opioid Settlement Fund to distribute funds in 2022, and in 2025, Gov. Kim Reynolds signed House File 1038, a measure to allocate those funds. While in previous versions of the measure, lawmakers designated specific organizations that would receive funds, the 2025 law calls for the settlement funds to be distributed by the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services and the attorney general’s office.
Iowa HHS is supposed to control 75% of the funds and the AG’s office controls 25% – an amount that represents about $20 million through June 30, 2030, according to the AG’s office.
While some funds allocated to HHS oversight have begun to flow to organizations that provide opioid addiction treatment and prevention services in Iowa, Senate Democrats released a statement Thursday criticizing Iowa Attorney General Brenna Bird for not disbursing money through the Opioid Settlement Fund more than a year after the law was passed.
“For over a year, Attorney General Brenna Bird has failed to distribute a single cent of the millions in opioid settlement dollars allocated to her office,” Iowa Sen. Janet Petersen, D-Des Moines, said in a statement. “These funds are intended to help Iowans in need, but they just sit in the attorney general’s coffers collecting dust.”
Petersen said not distributing these funds for support, recovery and prevention services means people struggling with substance abuse and addiction related to opioids are not getting the help they need.
“There are real Iowans who are suffering the real consequences of the opioid crisis. They need the help these dollars can provide, but the attorney general is sitting still,” Petersen said. “It’s long past time to send these resources where they can prevent addiction and save lives.”
In a statement to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, Jennifer Green, communications director for the AG’s office, said the attorney general and office staff are holding meetings with “law enforcement agencies, treatment facilities, care providers and prosecutors across Iowa to learn about projects that will benefit the state and improve the lives of people struggling with addiction” as they make decisions about distributing funds. But she said this process takes time.
“Determining who receives awards is a thorough process that we do not take lightly,” Green said in a statement. “We built our sales process from the ground up with the goal of financial responsibility and meaningful impact, and we intend to achieve that goal.”
Green said the office expects to distribute the awards “in the coming weeks” as the office’s team completes current work reviewing submitted funding applications. She also noted that “unlike other grant administrators, our review and awarding of grants will be ongoing until the guidelines set forth in HF1038 are completed.”
Questions regarding distributions from the Opioid Settlement Fund can be directed to [email protected]Green said.
https://iowacapitaldispatch.com/2026/07/23/senate-democrats-criticize-ags-office-for-not-disbursing-opioid-settlement-money/
