Modesto-area state reps are glad Assembly panel will consider tougher fentanyl laws
.jpeg "This January 2022 photo shows about $3 million in fentanyl pills seized after a traffic stop in Fresno County by the California Highway Patrol.")
Following a bipartisan agreement, the Assembly Public Safety Committee will consider fentanyl-related bills at a hearing Thursday. Some of the bills would strengthen criminal penalties for dealers that sell the deadly illegal pills.
The public safety committees in the California Assembly and Senate have shelved proposals or declined to hear testimony this year on any bills proposing tougher criminal laws to combat the fentanyl crisis. Democratic committee members have said that incarceration has failed to reduce problems with drug abuse in the past.
Illegal fentanyl was the cause of 127 overdose deaths in Stanislaus County last year.
The freeze on hearing fentanyl legislation became upsetting for some moderate Democrats and the GOP caucus in Sacramento. Conservative lawmakers threatened to force fentanyl bills to a floor vote without being heard in committee.
An Assembly staff member said that in order to avoid high-profile drama in the Legislature, elected officials from both parties and their staffs brokered an agreement Thursday, April 20, to hear fentanyl bills in committee next week. Valley representatives including Assemblyman Juan Alanis, R-Modesto, Assemblyman Heath Flora, R-Ripon, and others were involved in the negotiations, said Josh Whitfield, chief of staff for Alanis.
Alanis, who is vice chairman of the Public Safety Committee, released a statement praising the agreement.
“Republicans and Democrats have set aside partisan divides and are trying to find a path forward on fentanyl-related legislation,” said Alanis, a Stanislaus County sheriff’s sergeant elected in November. “I look forward to working with (public safety committee chairman) Reggie Jones-Sawyer on this issue that is plaguing our communities. We have proven to find common ground together on other important issues this year and I am hopeful we can have productive conversations on this issue as well.”
According to public health data, there were 5,722 deaths due to illegal fentanyl in California in 2021, a death toll that included 224 people ages 15 to 19.
A Stanislaus County campaign to warn the public about opioid use includes the story of a 14-year-old Waterford girl who died from fentanyl poisoning in August 2021.
The Assembly committee is scheduled to consider bills including AB 1058 written by Assemblyman Jim Patterson, R-Fresno, proposing tougher court sentences for possessing large amounts of fentanyl.
Other bills scheduled before the committee are: AB 33 by Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains, D-Delano, to create a fentanyl task force; AB 367, to bolster criminal penalties; AB 474, for cooperation between state and local authorities to disrupt fentanyl trafficking; and AB 955, a Democratic bill to increase penalties for selling fentanyl on social media.
Whitfield said Alanis has voted for most fentanyl bills proposed in the Democrat-controlled Legislature, everything from court admonishments for convicted dealers to making overdose-reversing Narcan available in public places.
“We are hoping to actually get something done Thursday and not get hung up on partisan issues,” Whitfield said.
