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Senate committee carries over bill that would criminalize failing to seek help for overdose victims
Summary
Senator Price introduced SP218 after a constituent's case in which a partygoer overdosed and remained undiscovered for days. Senators raised concerns about mens rea and the bill's reach; sponsor agreed to pursue amendments and carried the bill over.
Senator Price presented SP218, a bill that would create a criminal offense for failing to render aid — or at minimum for failing to summon help — when someone at a gathering becomes incapacitated, citing a case in his district where a young man overdosed and was found dead four days later.
"Her son was at a party. He overdosed, passed out in the backyard ... 4 days later, they found him," Senator Price said, explaining he had reviewed the proposal with the district attorneys' association and intends it to give prosecutors an additional tool.
Under the draft described in committee, the offense would cover people who "walk off the scene and do nothing" and could allow prosecutors to seek a class C felony charge in some cases, depending on facts and prosecutorial discretion. Price said the bill is intended to permit DAs to pursue charges if facts support them, not to mandate universal prosecutions.
Several senators pressed for narrowing language. Senator Figures asked how the bill would be proved when a person went inside and others assumed the victim had left; Senator Weaver asked whether the bill's phrase "while engaged in the illegal use of a controlled substance" would automatically render participants impaired. Concerned senators said the measure could sweep in people who genuinely did not know someone was incapacitated and could expose many to criminal process.
Senator Price said he was willing to work with colleagues and asked senators with questions to meet offline on amendments. The sponsor moved to carry the bill over to allow time to refine the statute, and the committee agreed. No vote on the bill was taken at the hearing.
Committee members recommended addressing knowledge, willfulness and proximity in any amendment so the criminal exposure targets culpable conduct rather than uninformed bystanders. The sponsor said the bill's intent is to provide a prosecutorial tool and to offer closure to families when appropriate.
