11-300. Tobacco settlement agreement; decreased payments; county contribution

A. If the total of the initial payment, annual payment and strategic contribution payment, as these terms are prescribed by sections IX(b) and IX(c) of the master settlement agreement entered into on November 23, 1998 between this state and certain United States tobacco product manufacturers, in any fiscal year is less than sixty-six per cent of the original amount identified in that agreement, and the state has used all previous tobacco settlement payments to administer and provide health care, in the following fiscal year the counties shall contribute an amount that equals thirty-three per cent of the difference between the actual payment and sixty-six per cent of that original amount identified for each year of the master settlement agreement. The staff of the joint legislative budget committee shall calculate the total county contribution pursuant to this subsection.

B. The state shall use monies paid by the counties pursuant to subsection A of this section to provide indigent health care services. If the state does not use all settlement payments for health care costs, the counties are not required to provide monies pursuant to this section.

C. A county's share of the payments prescribed pursuant to subsection A of this section is the percentage of that county's current population to the state's current population. The staff of the joint legislative budget committee shall calculate each county's contribution. For the purposes of this subsection, " current population" means the population estimated by the department of economic security as of July 1 of the calendar year that precedes the beginning of a fiscal year.

D. The state treasurer shall withhold the amount owed by a county from any payments required to be made by the state treasurer to that county pursuant to section 42-5029, subsection D, paragraph 2 after any amounts withheld for the county long-term care contribution or the county administration contribution pursuant to section 11-292, subsection O. If the monies the state treasurer withholds are insufficient to meet that county's funding requirements as specified in this section, the state treasurer shall withhold from any other monies payable to that county from whatever state funding source is available an amount necessary to fulfill that county's requirements. The state treasurer may not withhold distribution from the highway user revenue fund pursuant to title 28, chapter 18, article 2.

E. On or before the fifth day of each month each county shall pay to the state treasurer an amount equal to one-twelfth of the total monies prescribed pursuant to this section. The state treasurer shall deposit these monies in the budget neutrality compliance fund established by section 36-2928. On request from the director of the Arizona health care cost containment system administration, the state treasurer shall require a county to make up to three months' payments in advance.