San Luis Obispo County Municipal Code Ch. 8.21 Tobacco Settlement Allocation Plan

(a) In 1998 over forty states, including California, reached a Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) with a group of tobacco product manufacturers that concludes litigation initiated against the tobacco companies under a variety of state consumer protection and/or anti-trust laws.

(b) The Master Settlement Agreement is a comprehensive, complex, and long-term arrangement intended generally to reduce the use of tobacco products, educate the public on the dangers of tobacco use, and provide financial compensation to governmental entities that incurred costs over the years related to tobacco use.

(c) San Luis Obispo County, under the agreed statewide formula, will receive an estimated two and a half million dollars annually for the next twenty years.

(d) The board of supervisors has made a commitment to expend these funds for the sole purpose of supporting health care programs in the county. In addition to funding increases in on-going health agency programs, mental health therapy, tobacco control, and drug and alcohol abuse prevention, the board also established a new preventive health grant program, which uses tobacco settlement dollars to pay for a variety of programs designed to prevent disease and enable county residents to reach and maintain optimal health stability and independence.

(e) This chapter establishes the purpose and use of the tobacco settlement funds, and establishes the appropriate public oversight and accountability that is lawful and necessary in the disbursement of public funds. The adoption of this chapter establishes the governing framework in which the tobacco settlement funds are to be allocated and used for the public good. This chapter commits the county to continue the board of supervisors' previous policy, that the tobacco settlement funds will be used solely for the purpose of delivering health related programs and services to the residents of San Luis Obispo County.

(Ord. 2960 § 1 (part), 2002)

Words used in this chapter shall have the following meanings:

"Board of supervisors" means the board of supervisors of the county.

"County" means the County of San Luis Obispo, a general law county organized and existing under the Constitution and law of the State of California.

"Tobacco settlement allocation plan" means the disbursement of tobacco settlement funds for the purposes defined in this chapter.

"Tobacco settlement funds" means the revenue received from the Master Settlement Agreement of 1998 entered into between the state's Attorney General and the tobacco industry on November 23, 1998, in settlement of litigation, as defined in California Health and Safety Code Section 104556(e).

(Ord. 2960 § 1 (part), 2002)

The board of supervisors shall continue to use tobacco settlement funds for policies and programs designed to enhance the quality, quantity, and availability of all forms of health care to the residents of San Luis Obispo County. Among these policies and programs are:

(1) One hundred percent of tobacco settlement funds will be used to maintain and enhance health related programs in San Luis Obispo County.

(2) Allocation of tobacco settlement funds by the board of supervisors through the annual budget process.

(3) Utilization of tobacco settlement funds to leverage funding opportunities from the state and federal governments to increase available local health care dollars.

(4) Utilization of tobacco settlement funds for prevention and treatment to a broad range of age groups from youth and seniors.

(5) Funds shall be annually allocated and appropriated to areas including, but not limited to, providing health care services to seniors and persons with disabilities, funding of clinics, funding of tobacco prevention and control programs, funding of preventive health grant programs, and others that promote the health and well-being of the community, encourage behaviors and activities that focus on preventing disease and enable county residents to reach and maintain optimal health stability and independence.

(Ord. 2960 § 1 (part), 2002)

(a) Administration. The county administrative office, who shall have the authority to govern the fund consistent with this chapter, shall administer the fund and prescribe procedures for said purpose subject to the approval of the board of supervisors.

(b) Review. Commencing one year after the effective date of this chapter, and annually thereafter, the county administrative office shall report to the board of supervisors on the status of activities undertaken with the funds. The report shall include a statement of revenues, expenses, disbursements, and other uses of the funds. The report shall evaluate the effectiveness of this chapter in leveraging funding opportunities from the state and federal governments to increase available local health care dollars and evaluate the effectiveness of the educational, preventive, and treatment components of the preventive health grant programs.

(Ord. 2960 § 1 (part), 2002)

Should any provision of this chapter or a subsequent amendment thereto be held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be either invalid, void or unenforceable, the remaining provisions of this chapter shall remain in full force and effect.

(Ord. 2960 § 1 (part), 2002)