California State Assembly Reinforces Commitment to Urgent Action on Fentanyl Crisis

SACRAMENTO, CA— California needs a comprehensive strategy to address the fentanyl crisis if we are going to succeed in preventing the tragic losses of life in our communities.

This year, the Assembly has taken significant action. Our dedicated members passed more fentanyl legislation than any time in its history, with a focus on addressing the crisis via both public safety and public health lenses. 

The Assembly remains committed to urgently unlocking solutions. This fall, the Select Committee on Fentanyl, Opioid Addiction, and Overdose Prevention will continue holding public hearings on the fentanyl crisis, exploring root causes and developing policies to combat this problem.

“This is a heartbreaking crisis that has a tragic grip on our neighborhoods, our schools, our families,” Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas said. “My colleagues in the Assembly understand we must work together, putting loved ones and young people first, and the Caucus is focused on engaging our diverse communities. We know there are other illicit drugs on the horizon, which will continue to devastate California, and we will continue to take action.”

“The fentanyl crisis will only continue to grow if our local, state and federal governments don’t work together with greater purpose, scale and urgency to stop it,” said Assembly member Matt Haney, chair of the select committee. “This year, the Select Committee on Fentanyl started the work of bringing law enforcement, public health experts and families affected by the crisis together to help coordinate a truly comprehensive legislative response. We’ll be elevating and expanding that work under Speaker Rivas’ leadership and direction throughout the rest of the year and into next, to bring forward proposals that can confront and stop this deadly epidemic.”

This year, the Assembly has already passed legislation that increases punishment for high-level fentanyl dealers, invests in fentanyl and opioid education for parents and teachers, and expands access to treatment that rapidly reverse overdoses or detects fentanyl. Our members are putting all Californians first and working hard to save lives.

The following is a list of Assembly and Senate fentanyl legislation from the current year:

• AB 33 (Bains) – Establishes the Fentanyl Misuse and Overdose Prevention Task Force to undertake specified duties relating to fentanyl abuse.
• AB 461 (Ramos) – Requires community colleges and CSU to stock and distribute fentanyl test strips and provide information about the use and location of fentanyl test strips as part of campus orientations.
• AB 474 (Rodriguez) – Requires the State Threat Assessment Center and the Office of Emergency Services to prioritize cooperation with state and local efforts to illuminate, disrupt, degrade and dismantle criminal networks trafficking opioid drugs.
• AB 701 (Villapudua) – Applies the existing weight enhancements that increase the penalty and fine for trafficking substances containing heroin, cocaine base and cocaine to fentanyl.
• AB 1027 (Petrie-Norris) – Requires social media platforms to disclose their policies regarding communications between users of the platform. This change provides law enforcement agencies with access to information that could be invaluable in their efforts to investigate online illicit drug transactions.
• AB 1060 (Ortega) – Requires health plans and Medi-Cal to cover prescription and over-the-counter Narcan.
• AB 1166 (Bains) – Clarifies that a good samaritan who renders emergency care by administering or furnishing an opioid antagonist is generally not liable for civil damages resulting from an act or omission related to the action.
• SB 10 (Cortese) – Establishes Melanie's Law which requires school safety plans of schools serving students in grades seven to 12 to include a protocol for responding to a student's opioid overdose.
• SB 60 (Umberg) – Authorizes a person to seek a court order requiring a social media platform, as defined, to remove content that includes an offer to sell, transport, or otherwise provide specified controlled substances.
• SB 234 (Portantino) – Requires public schools, colleges and universities, stadiums, concert venues and amusement parks to maintain unexpired doses of opioid antagonists on its premises and ensure that at least two employees are aware of the location of the opioid antagonists.
• SB 641 (Roth) – Requires the state to make all FDA approved formulations and dosage strengths of naloxone or another opioid antagonist that are indicated for the emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose available to eligible NDP applicants to the extent that federal funding is not jeopardized.