Sponsors push enhanced penalties when fentanyl distribution leads to death
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Summary
SB 906 would add an enhanced felony penalty when fentanyl or fentanyl-containing distribution causes death or serious injury; prosecutors and grieving families urged passage while opponents warned of costs, racial disparities and possible public-health harms.
Sen. Mary Delaney James presented Senate Bill 906 as a response to a surge of fatal overdoses involving fentanyl. The bill would allow prosecutors to seek an enhanced felony when a defendant previously convicted of specified drug distribution offenses causes a death or serious injury by distributing fentanyl or a fentanyl-containing mixture; proponents said it would permit consecutive sentencing to reflect the fatal outcome.
Scott Broadfoot Sr. testified that his son died after buying what he believed was cocaine that contained fentanyl and urged the legislature to hold dealers accountable. Assistant state's attorney Stuart Welch described practical advantages for prosecutors and said the bill is balanced and modeled on statutes used by many other jurisdictions; he noted Maryland currently prosecutes under manslaughter or depraved-heart homicide charges but that a targeted statute would make prosecution clearer.
Opponents including representatives of the Law Enforcement Action Partnership and family members of overdose victims warned the bill could increase incarceration costs, perpetuate racial disparities, and might deter overdose reporting and harm-reduction efforts. Committee members questioned how penalties would stack with existing distribution and enhanced-penalty statutes and how jurisdictional issues would be handled when distribution and death occur in different counties; the state's attorney said counties would coordinate on charging decisions.
The hearing ended after testimony and questioning; the transcript records no committee vote.