Opioid Abatement Authority

Purpose

The Opioid Abatement Authority is established as an independent body. The purpose of the Authority is to abate and remediate the opioid epidemic in the Commonwealth through financial support from the Fund, in the form of grants, donations, or other assistance, for efforts to treat, prevent, and reduce opioid use disorder and the misuse of opioids in the Commonwealth. The Authority's exercise of powers conferred by this article shall be deemed to be the performance of an essential governmental function and matters of public necessity for which public moneys may be spent and private property acquired.

The Authority shall:

1. Establish specific criteria and procedures for awards from the Fund;
2. Establish requirements for the submission of funding requests;
3. Evaluate funding requests in accordance with the criteria established by the Authority and the provisions of this article;
4. Make awards from the Fund in a manner that distributes funds equitably among all community services board regions of the Commonwealth, including the establishment of mandatory minimum percentages of funds to be awarded from the Commonwealth to each participating locality;
5. Evaluate the implementation and results of all efforts receiving support from the Authority; and
6. Administer the Fund in accordance with the provisions of this article.

Term

4 years

Composition

1. The Authority shall be governed by a board of directors consisting of 11 members as follows: (i) the Secretary of Health and Human Resources or his designee; (ii) the Chair of the Senate Committee on Finance and Appropriations or his designee and the Chair of the House Committee on Appropriations or his designee; (iii) an elected member of the governing body of a participating locality, to be selected from a list of three submitted jointly by the Virginia Association of Counties and the Virginia Municipal League; (iv) one representative of a community services board or behavioral health authority serving an urban or suburban region containing participating localities and one representative of a community services board or behavioral health authority serving a rural region containing participating localities, each to be selected from lists of three submitted by the Virginia Association of Community Services Boards; (v) one sheriff of a participating locality, to be selected from a list of three submitted by the Virginia Sheriffs' Association; (vi) one licensed, practicing county or city attorney of a participating locality, to be selected from a list of three submitted by the Local Government Attorneys of Virginia; (vii) two medical professionals with expertise in public and behavioral health administration or opioid use disorders and their treatment; and (viii) one representative of the addiction and recovery community.

   The member appointed pursuant to clause (i) shall serve ex officio, and the members appointed pursuant to clauses (iii) through (viii) shall be appointed by the Governor. If the term of the office to which a member appointed pursuant to clause (iii) or (v) was elected expires prior to the expiration of his term as a member of the board, the Governor may authorize such member to complete the remainder of his term as a member or may appoint a new member who satisfies the criteria of clause (iii) or (v), as applicable, to complete the remainder of the term. [ The members identified in clause (ii) shall serve without voting privileges. ]

2. 1. After an initial staggering of terms, members of the Board shall serve terms of four years. No member shall be eligible to serve more than two terms. Any appointment to fill a vacancy shall be for the unexpired term. A person appointed to fill a vacancy may be appointed to serve two additional terms.

Vacant Seats

No seats are available at this time. If you are interested in joining this board in the future, please submit an application here.

Current Board Members

Michael J. Tillem

Representative of the Addiction and Recovery Community Membership expires on 6/30/2026

Dr. Sarah T. Melton Thomason

Medical Professional Membership expires on 6/30/2026

Daryl Washington

Representative Serving an Urban or Suburban Region CSB Membership expires on 6/30/2027

The Honorable Debbie Ritter

Elected Member of a Locality Membership expires on 6/30/2027

City Attorney Timothy Ross Spencer

County or City Attorney Membership expires on 6/30/2028

Sheriff Joseph Patrick Baron

Sheriff Membership expires on 6/30/2028

Dr. Jenny Sachs

Medical Professional Membership expires on 6/30/2029

Ingrid Wallace Barber

Representative Serving a Rural Region CSB Membership expires on 6/30/2029