Wisconsin Health News

Gov. Tony Evers on Wednesday signed into law a bill setting up a framework for distributing funds from a settlement in a lawsuit brought by Wisconsin counties and others against opioid manufacturers, distributors and retailers. 

The Republican-backed bill passed the Legislature last week mostly along party-line votes. It would require the attorney general to work with counties on the settlement and splits Wisconsin’s share of settlement funds 30-70 between the state and counties that are party to the litigation. 

 “It will help bring much-needed funds to communities throughout Wisconsin to address the opioid pandemic,” Evers said in a statement. “These funds will be used on opioid abatement and mitigation efforts.”

Evers signed the bill over the objections of Attorney General Josh Kaul, who said the bill shouldn’t become law. 

Kaul said in a statement last week that the bill would “unconstitutionally” give the Joint Finance Committee significant authority over opioid-related settlements and that the bill creates no process for legislative review of confidential materials. And he noted the bill doesn’t cap attorney's fees for opioid-related settlements. 

Evers acknowledged Kaul’s concerns about the committee’s oversight. 

“Despite these serious concerns, I am not willing to risk our ability to maximize the amount of settlement dollars available to Wisconsin by vetoing this bill in its entirety,” Evers said in a statement. 

“I agree with the Governor that aspects of this legislation are unconstitutional,” Kaul said in a Wednesday statement. “It’s unfortunate that this new law misses the opportunity to help maximize the resources that will go toward fighting the opioid crisis in Wisconsin.”

The Wisconsin Counties Association applauded the signing.

 “Without this legislation, the state and counties could have lost vital opioid abatement funds," Lance Pliml, chair of the board of the association, said in a statement. "We are grateful for Gov. Evers’ leadership in acting in the best interest of Wisconsin to get this money quickly to our local communities for mitigation and abatement efforts.