Bill > SB0616

This bill amends existing law to prohibit political subdivisions, which are local government entities like counties or cities but not the state itself, from filing lawsuits related to opioid litigation against specific companies that have already reached settlements. These settlements, such as the "Allergan settlement" or the "distributor settlement" (which involves major drug distributors like AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson), are agreements arising from a large federal court case known as "MDL" (In re Nat’l Prescription Opiate Litigation). The bill specifies various deadlines, generally ranging from January 1, 2021, to January 1, 2025, after which political subdivisions are barred from suing these settling defendants for claims covered by those specific settlement agreements.