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HB 798

Opioid Restitution Fund - Interactive Dashboard

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Jackie Addison and 36 co-sponsors

Maryland creates a public interactive dashboard to track how opioid settlement funds are allocated and spent across state programs and communities.

Approved by the Governor - Chapter 690
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Bill Summary · HB 798

Legislative bill overview

HB 798 establishes an interactive public dashboard to track and display how Maryland allocates and spends opioid settlement restitution funds. The bill requires transparency in reporting where settlement money goes, including allocations to treatment, prevention, law enforcement, and community programs. This creates a centralized system for citizens and policymakers to monitor the use of billions in opioid litigation settlements.

Why is this important

Opioid settlements have generated substantial funding across states, but public scrutiny of how these funds are actually used remains limited. An interactive dashboard increases accountability and allows communities affected by the opioid crisis to see whether their region receives adequate resources. This transparency can reveal disparities in funding distribution and inform future policy decisions about addiction services.

Potential points of contention

  • Data privacy concerns: Dashboard may need to balance transparency with protecting sensitive information about treatment facilities, patients, or law enforcement activities
  • Implementation costs: Creating and maintaining an interactive dashboard requires ongoing technical infrastructure and staffing investment that could reduce funds available for actual services
  • Definitional disputes: How "opioid-related spending" is categorized and counted could be contested—different agencies may classify expenses differently, affecting what appears on the dashboard

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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