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Committee backs tougher fentanyl trafficking penalties; advocates urge treatment-first approach
Summary
Senate Bill 79 would create fentanyl-specific criminal penalties and higher mandatory minimums for trafficking by quantity; the committee adopted a sponsor amendment and advanced the bill after emotional testimony from victims’ families and law-enforcement officials.
Senate Bill 79, introduced as the Fentanyl Eradication and Removal Act, would create a fentanyl-specific schedule of offenses and impose higher mandatory minimum sentences and fines for trafficking by quantity. Senator Goodman, presenting the bill, emphasized the drug’s lethality and the large potential harm represented by small weights. "One kilogram of fentanyl has potential to kill a half a million people," he told the committee, citing DEA data.
Victim advocates and families gave emotional testimony. Beth Walters, whose son Austin died…
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