Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is again weighing legal options over the state’s allocation of funds it got from a billion dollar opioid settlement.
Mayes contends there are issues with money given to the state Department of Corrections.
"What is so outrageous about this is people in Arizona are dying from fentanyl overdoses. This opioid money should have gone to address that critical issue," Mayes said.
Mayes says her office has new evidence the state is using nearly $40 million from the settlement to pay for Hepatitis C treatments for inmates.
She says that is not allowed as a part of the agreement.
Last week, a Maricopa County Superior Court Judge ordered Mayes’ office to pay $70,000 in legal fees. He ruled against her in June in a previous lawsuit against Gov. Katie Hobbs and the Legislature over allocation of settlement funds.
Hobb’s press aide Christian Slater says Mayes' new claims do not stand under scrutiny.
“The attorney general is flat-out wrong on the law. On her very own website she indicates the funds may be used for opioid treatment in our corrections system," Slater said.
The Judge did leave the door open for further legal action if Mayes was able to find evidence the money was not used in accordance with the agreement.
-
A new Arizona law cracks down on the sale of synthetic opioids that a Republican lawmaker warns are deadlier than fentanyl. -
The Trump administration designated Mexico’s cartels as foreign terrorist organizations in February, giving prosecutors a new tool to charge suspects. But experts warn less likely suspects could get swept up in the cases. -
Earlier this month, a Valley courtroom heard from the victim of a road rage shooting. But, the statement was from an AI version of the victim, who was killed in the incident. -
Dog Walker Watch is a crime awareness program spanning 3,000 cities in the U.S.. Prescott Valley is the latest community in Arizona to participate. -
A “Crime Free Lease Addendum" is intended to make apartment complexes safer and prevent crime from happening there. But a new investigation found they’re not really having the desired effect.
