Hutto signs onto $26 billion opioid settlement

Hutto City Council on Thursday signed onto a $26 billion agreement between the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and several pharmaceutical companies.

The settlement is intended to resolve hundreds of lawsuits filed nationwide against the companies—which include distributors Cardinal, McKesson and AmerisourceBergen as well as manufacturer Johnson & Johnson—accusing them of ignoring the harmful effects of opioids.

Texas cities & counties stand to receive a total of $1.5 billion dollars from the agreement, allocated based on data about how greatly communities have been impacted by opioid abuse and addiction.

Hutto is slated to receive $38,346 from the agreement and Williamson County will receive $1,195,987.

These funds will be dispersed early next year and must be used for opioid abatement programs.

Councilmember Mandi Villarreal Salvo requested a copy of the data used to determine fund allocations so that the city could use it to identify places where the funding is most needed.

“I didn’t know that this was a big issue for us, so ... it would make sense to investigate it a little bit more,” Villarreal Salvo said.