The California State Senate Committee on Public Safety blocked a bill Tuesday that proposed tougher penalties for people who sold fentanyl.
The bill was named “Alexandra’s Law” after a 20-year-old Riverside County woman who died in 2019 from fentanyl poisoning.
The proposed law would have required convicted fentanyl dealers to receive a warning from judges. After the warning, if the drugs they dealt resulted in someone’s death, they would receive a harsher sentence.
The bill had bipartisan support, but it did not pass committee because two Democrats raised questions about how dealers would or should know if their drugs contained fentanyl.
Sen. Nancy Skinner, who represents Oakland, said she was concerned that there was no real evidence that this would limit overdose deaths.
However, those in favor of the bill said there is evidence that this type of law would save lives.
Alexandra’s Law cannot be voted on again, but similar legislation can still be introduced.
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