Committee advances bill increasing penalties for distributing fentanyl to minors

The Senate Judiciary Committee moved Senate File 9, which creates an enhanced penalty for distribution or delivery of fentanyl to minors. Chair Olsen described the bill as increasing penalties applied when an adult distributes fentanyl to persons under 18; the chair summarized that, under current statute, certain controlled-substance offenses carry up to 20 years and $25,000 in fines and that the bill would double penalties in qualifying cases.

Alan Thompson (WASCOP) urged urgency, citing increasing fentanyl overdoses and deaths and urging prevention for children and school personnel. "If we were doing the right thing, we would have been on front of this three years ago," Thompson said. Nish Goykuleia, chief policy officer for the Wyoming Department of Education (speaking for Superintendent Degenfelder), reiterated the superintendent's support for enhanced penalties to protect school safety. Clark Fairbanks of the Wyoming Youth Service Association said youth-service providers see the daily impacts on children and families and supported the bill.

Committee members asked for empirical data separating fentanyl arrests and distribution to minors; witnesses and law enforcement said data sources may be limited and that lab testing and case assignment can lag. Chair reported state overdose death counts cited in committee: nine fentanyl-related deaths in 2014 and 52 in 2023. The committee moved the bill by roll call; the clerk recorded four ayes and one excused member. The bill now proceeds for further consideration.