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3 The state-subdivision agreement anticipates a change to this law to allow counties to receive their share of the settlement funds directly. The agreement requires the state and subdivisions to work together to achieve this change in law during the 2022 legislative session, and includes a provision changing the allocation between state and local governments if the statutory change is not accomplished. Some municipalities in Minnesota retained attorneys on a contingency fee basis to file lawsuits against the opioid companies. The national settlements establish an Attorney Fee Fund for attorneys representing cities and counties that join the settlements. The settlements require attorneys who recover from this fund to waive enforcement of their contingency fee agreements. The state-subdivision agreement includes a Backstop Fund, which will be overseen by a Special Master, that will allow for the payment of reasonable attorney fees to private attorneys to make up for the difference between what they receive from the national fund and their contingency fee agreements, which are capped at 15%. Any funds that remain in the Backstop Fund after payment of reasonable attorney fees will revert to cities and counties for abatement. Subdivision Participation It is vital for subdivisions to join the settlements during the initial sign-on period, which ends January 2, 2022. First, very high levels of subdivision participation nationally are necessary for the companies to move forward with the settlements and for everyone to benefit from them. Second, cities or counties cannot receive any portion of the direct settlement funds if they do not sign on to the settlements. Third, in order to maximize the settlement payments that come to Minnesota, full joinder by certain categories of counties and cities is needed. Finally, joinder during the initial sign-on period maximizes the amount of funds available to an individual city or county. Next Steps Now: Cities and counties should have received a settlement notice with additional information about the sign on process, which begins by registering on the national settlement website: www.nationalopioidsettlement.com. Registering is a necessary step toward participation in the settlements. The notice each subdivision received by mail and email provides its unique subdivision registration code, which must be used to register. Registering does not mean that the subdivision has accepted the terms of the national settlement agreements or the state-subdivision agreement. Next: Each subdivision, via its local legislative body, should adopt a resolution that authorizes a representative of the subdivision to execute Minnesota’s state-subdivision agreement and both subdivision settlement participation forms (Distributors and Johnson & Johnson), which are required to join the settlements. Cities and counties can obtain model resolutions by contacting the Association of Minnesota Counties or the League of Minnesota Cities. The resolutions should be submitted to the subdivisions’ legislative body (i.e., county commission or city council) for approval.