Following a series of bipartisan fentanyl bills failing to pass in a California Senate committee in April, it seems that the veto-proof supermajority enjoyed by Democrats in the state Legislature is not helping some bills authored by Democratic lawmakers.
One frustrated author of a sidelined proposal is looking for alternative solutions, including potentially bringing the issue to voters.
“I will continue in some fashion to pursue this—whether by initiative or other measures,” Senator Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana), told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement May 2. His Senate Bill 44—which would inform fentanyl dealers that future actions causing death could result in murder charges—was killed by the five-member Senate Public Safety Committee on April 25 despite support from the majority of legislators.
For Newport Beach-based nonprofit FentanylSolution.org, taking the issue to voters is a priority.
“We’re taking [SB 44] to the people,” Janice Celeste, the group’s CEO, told The Epoch Times. “We’re going to find out if the public wants more penalties for fentanyl dealers.”
Polling is currently underway, with the potential ballot measure slated to appear on the next presidential electoral ballot in 2024, but the process is costly, with an estimated $3 million needed to bring an initiative to voters, according to Celeste.
“This is true democracy, but the part that’s not so democratic is the cost,” she said. “We need all of the people to join in with us and make this happen.”
The cost is a concern, but given the lack of progress with legislative strategies, it offers an alternative plan of action to committee members’ hesitance to consider punitive measures, Celeste said.
“They’re talking about having some more meetings and trying to do something, but as long as we have the same people in the same seats, we’re likely to see the same things,” she said.
With 40 members in the Senate, the 22 authors and co-sponsors of SB 44 represented a majority of legislators.
Democratic committee members Sens. Nancy Skinner (D-Berkeley) and Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) stood in firm opposition during the April hearing of Umberg’s bill and prevented it from proceeding, saying it would have unintended consequences by affecting some they said should not be labeled as drug dealers.
Similar arguments were heard from committee members in both houses decried attempts to increase penalties for fentanyl dealing as a renewed “war on drugs.”
“I am beside myself,” Umberg told The Epoch Times after the legislation was killed. “It breaks my heart that we haven’t been able to get the bill out of committee.”
The language of Umberg’s bill—also known as Alexandra’s Law—was originally introduced as Senate Bill 350 in 2021 by former Sen. Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore), and was also killed by the Senate’s safety committee in 2022.
Sen. Steven Bradford (D-Gardena) argued at the time—in response to Melendez’s SB 350—that anyone who takes an illicit substance bears the responsibility for their actions, and he voiced his reticence to increase any penalties for distribution.
“They put the burden on the victims,” Melendez told The Epoch Times May 1. “It doesn’t appear they have any desire whatsoever to support any bill that will increase punishment on those that deal fentanyl.”
SB 44 is not the only Democrat-authored legislation facing obstacles in the California Legislature, where Democrats best Republicans 32–8 in the Senate and 62–18 in the Assembly.
Several other fentanyl bills were either recently killed or stalled by Democratic lawmakers on the Assembly Public Safety Committee using their significant majority on the panels.
The bills that failed to pass include the following: one that sought to enhance sentencing for fentanyl dealers that caused bodily harm, another targeting fentanyl dealers possessing more than one ounce of the drug, and Assembly Bill 955, authored by Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Irvine), which aimed to strengthen penalties for fentanyl dealers using social media to distribute drugs, which was referred for an “interim study.”
“This is done in hopes that people forget and move onto the next issue du jour, but that’s not going to happen because fentanyl is increasing in our state, so the problem is not going to go away,” said Melendez—the original author of Alexandra’s Law. “Lots of people are dying while they’re busy studying. That’s inaction.”
Assemblywoman Esmeralda Soria’s (D-Merced) Assembly Bill 675, which prohibits the simultaneous possession of a loaded firearm and a synthetic opioid was approved by the committee along with one that dealt with the issue in terms of treatment and education, two that targeted large trafficking operations and one—which was added to the agenda at the last minute—that increases penalties and fines for possession, distribution, or conspiracy to distribute more than one kilogram of fentanyl.
During the hearing, Jim Patterson (R-Fresno) argued that a kilogram threshold for fentanyl was too high given the lethal dose of two milligrams. His AB 1058, which failed to pass, would increase penalties for possession of more than 28.35 grams of fentanyl.
“One pill can kill,” he said. “And drug dealers caught with 2,000 pills are being charged with misdemeanors.”
An overarching theme from Democratic committee members is the need for more resources to fight addiction from a public health standpoint.
In a rambling aside addressed to committee members, witnesses, and the public in attendance, Jones-Sawyer—the chair of the Assembly committee—noted the difficulty facing the Legislature in regard to the fentanyl crisis.
“We need to unite our efforts instead of dividing our efforts,” he said. “We can no longer sit in partisan camps.”
The committee then voted by party lines in defeating the majority of punitive fentanyl bills under consideration.
According to the California Department of Health more than 6,000 people in the state, many between the ages of 18–45, died from fentanyl overdoses in 2021.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom recently announced a joint operation between the California Highway Patrol and the National Guard to target fentanyl trafficking in San Francisco.
More than 20 bills pertaining to fentanyl are currently being considered by the Legislature, including those that have been stalled.
“The only way something like this will pass is to put it to the voters,” Melendez said. “But it’s risky.”
If an initiative is undertaken and the required signatures collected put the proposal on the ballot successfully, the state Attorney General would be tasked with writing the language provided to voters describing the law.
“I’m concerned about how the AG would write the ballot title and the summary,” she said. “The AG is going to put their spin on it, they rely on some voters’ lack of sophistication, and you don’t know how the public will respond.”
