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Committee adds state drug director to list of officials who may receive crime‑lab toxicology reports
Summary
The committee approved House Bill 18‑43 to allow the state drug director to receive toxicology reports from the state crime lab to help map overdose patterns across jurisdictions; lawmakers discussed confidentiality and FOIA exceptions.
The Senate committee approved House Bill 18‑43 to add the state drug director to the list of officials who may receive toxicology reports from the state crime lab. Secretary Mike Hager and other witnesses told the committee the change is intended to let the drug director build a cross‑jurisdictional map of overdose cases to identify distribution patterns and potential dealers.
“It's allowing us again to isolate where these areas are coming from,” said Mike Hager, secretary of the Department of Public Safety. He described a database the drug director has built to plot overdose deaths and identify repeat sources that may cross county or municipal lines.
Committee members raised confidentiality concerns and whether the information could become subject to public records requests. Hager and other witnesses said existing statutes treat crime lab records as privileged and confidential; they pointed to an active‑investigation exception that would bar disclosure in many cases. Hager also noted the drug director is currently assigned administratively to the Department of Human Services but works under a memorandum of understanding with DPS; many prior directors have law‑enforcement backgrounds.
Sen. Dodson asked whether the drug director is a certified law‑enforcement officer; Hager replied that the current director is a former DEA agent and that prior directors were often former law‑enforcement personnel. Several senators, including Peyton and Dauchner, pressed for assurance that the records would remain protected; Hager said the statute’s confidentiality provisions would continue to apply and that misuse would be handled by legal counsel and communications staff.
Committee members voted to give HB 18‑43 a do‑pass recommendation. Senator Sullivan moved to pass; Senator Dodson seconded. The chairman recorded the motion as approved by voice vote.
The measure accompanies House Bill 18‑42, which reassigns a jail‑standards officer administratively to the Commission on Law Enforcement Standards, a procedural staffing change reported earlier in the hearing and also advanced by the committee.
