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Senate Judiciary panel adopts Abbas amendment adding fentanyl mandatory-minimums; bill moved forward
Summary
The Senate Judiciary Committee approved an Abbas amendment that adds mandatory-minimum penalties tied to fentanyl-related deaths and reduces some minimum terms, and then advanced the underlying bill out of committee as amended.
The Senate Judiciary Committee on May 20 adopted an amendment to a criminal-penalties bill that adds mandatory-minimum sentences for some fentanyl-related offenses, and the committee later advanced the underlying bill out of committee as amended.
The amendment—identified in committee as Amendment 2061 and described by sponsors as an “Abbas amendment”—incorporates elements of previously filed measures, including provisions drawn from Senate bills 14 and 15, while reducing the number of years in some mandatory minimums and adding a knowledge element for deaths involving fentanyl. A committee member explaining the amendment said the amended language "will only incur a minimum mandatory if the person knew that it was fentanyl, [or] should have reasonably known." (excerpted and lightly edited for clarity.)
Committee members pressed staff and counsel on the amendment's interaction with existing criminal-law doctrines of voluntary and involuntary intoxication. One committee member asked how the bill treated a defendant who was involuntarily intoxicated; a committee attorney responded that involuntary intoxication is typically a question of fact for a jury and that the statute's burden remains with the state to disprove such defenses beyond a reasonable doubt.
The amendment passed on a voice vote in committee. After adopting the amendment, the committee voted to move the underlying bill (listed in committee as 528/5:28) out of committee with an "ought to pass" recommendation.
Supporters of the amendment said it narrows strict liability by adding the knowledge element and shortens some mandatory terms compared with earlier proposals; opponents said they remained concerned about mandatory-minimum sentences and the treatment of intoxication defenses.
The committee recorded the amendment as the Abbas amendment (Amendment 2061) and then approved the bill as amended. The committee did not record a detailed roll-call vote in the hearing transcript; the actions were taken by voice vote.
What happens next: the bill, as amended, will be scheduled for further action by the full Senate (or the next legislative step consistent with chamber procedure). The transcript does not specify a floor date.
