Anna Little Morris

This plan details Mississippi's strategy for utilizing over $367 million from opioid crisis settlements to address and mitigate the epidemic. Key components include ensuring compliance with settlement terms to prevent clawbacks, establishing a Center for Addiction Medicine at the University of Mississippi Medical Center for medical professional training and addiction research, and creating an annual grant program for statewide opioid abatement projects. The overarching goal is to significantly reduce opioid-related damage through prevention, treatment, and education, thereby positioning Mississippi as a leader in addiction medicine and saving lives.

A meeting was announced for the Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Council to conduct regular business as detailed in the attached agenda. The agenda included old business, specifically the approval of the November 3, 2025 meeting minutes, and new business, which focused on reviewing an updated draft list of recommended grant recipients for 2025-2026 across various funding tiers. The document also contains the minutes from the November 3, 2025 meeting, where key discussions involved updates on the Rural Health Transformation Grant program and the detailed voting and setting aside of several grant applications across Tier One, Tier Two, and Tier Three for funding recommendations.

The Council meeting was scheduled to conduct regular business as set forth in the agenda. Key discussion items in the new business section included the Meeting Structure and Guidelines, review of the Draft 2025-2026 List of Recommended Grant Recipients, and the Timeline. A detailed review of grant applications was performed, categorizing recommendations into Tiers One through Four based on scores, with discussion notes provided for legislative consideration regarding specific funding amounts or conditions for recommended projects. Applications not meeting the abatement definition or lacking required documentation were also categorized separately.

The agenda for the second meeting of the Council includes addressing Old Business items, specifically the Rules and Priorities as amended and adopted. New Business topics involve the Proposed Request for Grant Applications, the Proposed Application Form and Amended Timeline, the Proposed Scoring Rubric, a Sample Memorandum of Understanding and Project Budget, and Proposed Subcommittee Assignments.

The meeting focused heavily on amendments and adoptions concerning the Council's governing documents and procedures. Under Old Business, the Council reviewed and subsequently approved, with amendments, the Proposed Rules, including changes to Rule 402, 404, and 405(c). The Proposed Priorities for 2025 were also reopened, amended to include support for "unserved and under-resourced communities in the state" (Priority 8) and a requirement for grant proceeds benefiting Mississippi residents (Priority 9), before being adopted. Under New Business, extensive amendments were made to the Request for Grant Application, Proposal Narrative items (including budget detail, evaluation methods, timeline, and required certifications), and the Application Form itself. Furthermore, the Council amended the Proposed Scoring Rubric across several sections, including Abatement Impact, Financial Stability, and Geographic Area, and discussed the Proposed Grant Cycle Timeline, confirming the September 19th application deadline. Finally, the Sample MOU was amended concerning financial documentation, audit rights, reporting review periods, and limitations on lump sum awards, before final adoption.