Along with several other bipartisan fentanyl bills previously shelved by California lawmakers, Senate Bill 44, which would impose harsher punishments on fentanyl dealers, will also get a second chance at life with a hearing for reconsideration by the state Senate’s Public Safety Committee scheduled for April 25.
Authored by Sens. Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana) and Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh (R-Redlands), the bill proposes the creation of a California Fentanyl Admonishment informing anyone convicted of a fentanyl-related crime of the dangers associated with the drug and the potential for future criminal liability if their actions result in another person’s death.
“This measure is unprecedented in that it has 21 Senate co-authors—a majority of the house,” Umberg told The Epoch Times in a statement April 24. “It’s clear that the Senate and the vast majority of California’s local governments and public safety agencies are calling for this added tool to help them tackle the fentanyl crisis.”
The tool Umberg mentioned is derived from the notification given to drunk drivers—from a law passed in 2004 known as the Watson Advisement—notifying them that any future offenses causing an accident can result in enhanced charges, such as a murder charge instead of manslaughter in case of death.
“By mirroring California’s [advisement] for repeat DUI offenders, we’re employing a time-tested tool that has prevented thousands of deaths,” Umberg said.
The bill was originally introduced in December 2022 but subsequently failed to pass the Senate Public Safety Committee March 28. Prosecutors are reportedly frustrated with the prior dismissal and slow progress of the legislation.
“I’m shocked that we can’t even get an advisal,” San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson told The Epoch Times. “The advisement seems to me to be more of an educational component than a punishment.”
According to Anderson, education as a solution is a necessary component for state legislators, but it represents only one piece of the puzzle, with consequences for illegal actions another.
“We need to punish people who are knowingly dealing fentanyl in a day and age when they know it could kill,” he said. “I don’t think that’s a ‘war on drugs.’ I think that’s just holding a particularly dangerous element responsible.”
Amended with language specifying that dealers must knowingly distribute fentanyl to face stiffer penalties, the bill now proposes providing convicted fentanyl dealers the following warning:
“If you do so in the future and a person dies as a result of that action, and you knew or should have known that the substance you provided contained fentanyl or a fentanyl analog, you may be charged with homicide, up to and including the crime of murder. In addition, this conviction will be considered by a judge or jury as to whether you knew or should have known that the substance you provided to the decedent contained fentanyl.”
The original text didn’t include the dealer’s awareness as a precondition for imposing harsher punishment and the sentence pertaining to the court’s discretion.
“I think the new language of SB 44 will help,” Anderson said.
Characterized as an epidemic by law enforcement and public health officials, fentanyl is responsible for approximately 115 deaths per week in the state, according to California Department of Public Health data.
The nearly 29,000 pounds of the drug seized in California in 2022 is enough to kill more than two-thirds of the planet’s population, based on calculations by the U.S. Department of Justice.
The overdose problem has accelerated quickly, with fentanyl deaths in California spiking from 82 in 2012 to nearly 6,000 in 2021, according to the most recently released public health data.
The danger to public safety is concerning if nothing is done, Anderson said, since many victims unknowingly consume fentanyl from counterfeit pharmaceutical products, and prosecutors are limited by a lack of effective sentencing options.
“There’s no such thing as a safe street drug anymore because of the presence of fentanyl,” he said. “It’s an insidious nature that we have to deal with differently because of the deception.”
Now given another chance to present the legislation, Umberg—a main author of SB 44—is confident the bipartisan bill will receive support from lawmakers.
“I’m optimistic that my colleagues on the Senate Public Safety Committee will trust me to keep working on this issue in the next couple of months to get this right and to help save lives,” he said.
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