PARIS — The Oxford County Commission established an opioid settlement advisory committee to review applications for funds being distributed as a result of nationwide settlements reached with pharmaceutical companies and drug distributors.

The bylaws for the committee were approved by commissioners after an executive session Sept. 17.

At least five and no more than seven voting members will be appointed by commissioners. The committee will review applications for money to go toward programs and services to help reduce opioid addiction and make nonbinding recommendations to commissioners on how to allocate the money.

Commissioners will strive to appoint those “who have experience in providing recovery services or in opioid recovery generally in Oxford County and/or Western Maine and will be guided by the ‘Principles for the Use of Funds from the Opioid Litigation’ published by the Maine Attorney General’s Office,” according to the bylaws.

The office specifies that funds must be used for “opioid abatement activities … including prevention, harm reduction, treatment and recovery programs.”

A number of companies have settled lawsuits dealing with their role in the opioid addiction crisis that has ravaged Maine over several years. The settlements will be paid out over 18 years. Among the companies are Walmart, CVS Pharmacy, Johnson & Johnson and Walgreens.

Oxford County is estimated to have received a total of $274,463.06 since 2022 and is expected to receive another $474,976.18 from various settlements in 2024, according to the Attorney General’s Office. 

After 18 years of payments, Oxford County is estimated to receive more than $2.55 million, or 3.85% of the more than $230 million the state will be awarded from the settlements. 

 Thirty-nine counties, cities and towns, including every county in Maine, will receive settlement money.

The Oxford County Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee will hold at least four public meetings a year in the county commissioners’ room at the county courthouse in Paris, unless there are no applications available at that time. Commissioners will appoint a nonvoting secretary from county administration who will review applications for completeness and pass them along for committee review or return them to the applicant if they are incomplete.

Any application must be received by the committee secretary at least 30 days prior to a scheduled meeting.

Before any applications are reviewed, the committee will submit proposed application and review criteria to the commissioners.

Commissioners may revise the criteria and can ultimately approve or adjust them.

The bylaws have an entire section dealing with potential conflicts of interest that says the committee “will at all times work to avoid any real or apparent conflict of interest.”

“No member of the Committee will participate in the review of an application for which the member is affiliated with the applicant, or for which a member assisted an applicant in the preparation or submission of an application,” the bylaws state.

All potential conflicts of interest must be disclosed by any committee member in reviewing an application. If the person does not voluntarily recuse themselves, the committee will determine by majority vote whether that member may participate in the review of the application.

The commission will next meet at 9 a.m. Oct. 3 for a workshop at the county courthouse on Western Avenue in Paris.