Next round of Opioid Settlement Fund applications to open at the end of August

Next round of Opioid Settlement Fund.

Key points

• Tollison will fill the vacancy in District 3, Place 2 created by former state Supreme Court Justice James Maxwell's confirmation to the U.S.
• Williams remarked the balance in the fund for Mississippi was $111.4 million as of June 16.
• The Attorney General's Office serves as the chair of the Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Council.
• Patient with burn injuries to 96% of their body treated, discharged from Mississippi Burn, Hand and Reconstruction Center.
• Basically, they only have the funds until the end of the fiscal year in June 2027.

Next round of Opioid Settlement Fund applications to open at the end of August.

Recipients of Opioid Settlement Funds in Mississippi are now allowed to seek monthly reimbursements instead of quarterly. Awards for this fiscal year totaled almost $60 million.

Monthly reimbursements is now an option for recipients of Opioid Settlement Funds in Mississippi, and the next round of applications will open afterwards this month.

In practice, the Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Council created the decision last month to allow agencies and organizations receiving Opioid Settlement Funds to opt for monthly or quarterly reimbursements, stated Michelle Williams, Chief of Staff for Attorney General Lynn Fitch (R) noted.

In practice, the Attorney General's Office serves as the chair of the Opioid Settlement Fund Advisory Council.

When given that option, Williams remarked concerning 12 recipients of the funds opted for monthly reimbursements.

"So, last week the council agreed that anybody who had requested a monthly reimbursement can get a monthly reimbursement now, " Williams remarked. Reporting requirements will follow the same intervals as prior reimbursements.

"If you've obtained monthly reimbursements, you'll do monthly reporting. If you've obtained quarterly reimbursements, you'll do quarterly reporting, " Williams went on.

Meanwhile, the change is projected to rise the workload for the third-party administrator the Legislature required to be involved in the application process and manage the reporting. Williams remarked the rise in the contract to the Steadman Group will not require a request for extra funding above the $400, 000 the Legislature appropriated for the service as their initial contract was below that amount prior to the reporting changes.

"And we are amending the contract so that now they will be able to help us with the additional reporting, " Williams explained. "We haven't gotten over the $400, 000 contract amount that we were appropriated so we don't have to go back to the Legislature for any extra funds. We're at $400, 000."

During last week's session, the advisory council additionally set a date to commence accepting applications for the next fiscal year. All current recipients must reapply for funding for fiscal year 2028.

"Basically, they only have the funds until the end of the fiscal year in June 2027. Projects that they would like to continue past that date, they will have to reapply for, " Williams remarked.

For context, the application website will go live on August 24, with acceptance of applications starting a week afterwards.

"The application period won't start for another week until the 31st and what we're doing with that is we're basically putting it out there, " Williams elaborated.

For context, the week-long lead is intended to offer applicants time to read through the application and pose technical questions they may have to the Steadman Group for clarification or further information during office hours. Applicants will then have six weeks, from August 31 until October 5, to submit their requests before the window closes.

Additionally during last week's gathering, the advisory council amended the scoring rubric that was applied last year to rank the applications. The council did so with input from the Steadman Group. Williams described the changes approved by the council as minor.

Applications will be reviewed as part of the revised scoring rubric. They will then be submitted to the Legislature for final approval. The Legislature additionally has the ability to add projects to the recommended list and change award amounts as it sees fit.

"The Legislature takes our recommendations, and they determine which ones they want to fund, " Williams remarked. "In the end, it's a legislative determination."

Meanwhile, the awards for fiscal year 2027 totaled $60.6 million, but with a veto issued by Governor Tate Reeves (R) for three projects totaling $1.5 million, the total issued for this fiscal year dropped to $59.1 million.

Williams remarked the balance in the fund for Mississippi was $111.4 million as of June 16. It includes $98.5 million in abatement funding and $12.9 million in non-abatement funding. <!– AddToAny script (best before) –>.

Jeremy Pittari is a lifelong resident of the Gulf Coast. Born and raised in Slidell, La., he moved to South Mississippi in the early 90s. Jeremy earned an associate in arts from Pearl River Community College and went on to attend the University of Southern Mississippi, where he earned a bachelor's of arts in journalism. A week after Hurricane Katrina, he began an internship as a reporter with the community newspaper in Pearl River County. After graduation, he accepted a full-time position at that news outlet where he covered the recovery process post Katrina in Pearl River and Hancock Counties. For almost 17 years he wrote concerning local administration, education, law enforcement, crime, business and a variety of other topics. Email Jeremy: [email protected].

News Alanna Durkin Richer, Associated Press August 17, 2026.

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In short, next round of Opioid Settlement Fund applications to open at the end is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.