Delegate Chris Tomlinson speaks about the problem of fentanyl and the need for Victoria and Scottie’s Law during a press conference in March 2024. (Paul W. Gillespie/The Baltimore Sun/TNS)
(Tribune News Service) — State lawmakers are again attempting to pass a bill that would dole out stricter punishments for dealers of heroin or fentanyl.
On Feb. 6 after filing the bill with the clerk’s office, Carroll County Republican Del. Chris Tomlinson, of District 5, said his aim is to “go after drug dealers who are selling the worst of the worst to our loved ones.”
“In most cases, outside of charging the drug dealer with distributing a controlled dangerous substance, it is almost impossible for state’s attorneys to hold a drug dealer accountable for selling a lethal product that results in the death of an individual,” Tomlinson posted to his Facebook page.
The bill is set for a hearing at 1 p.m., Wednesday before the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. Tomlinson, along with co-sponsor Sen. Jeff Waldstreicher, a Democrat from Montgomery County, will hold a joint news conference at noon with families of people who died of fentanyl and heroin overdoses.
“Over 20 states, including Washington State, already have similar laws in place that allow prosecutors to hold opioid drug dealers accountable who sell a product that kills their customer,” Tomlinson stated in a news release. “Introducing legislation to stop the folks who are putting this garbage into the hands of our sons and daughters is far from a radical idea.”
Waldstreicher, who serves as vice chairman of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, will formally introduce the bill on Wednesday after the news conference.
“The fact that this legislation is being introduced with bipartisan sponsorship shows how this has touched all of us in our communities and often our families,” Waldstreicher said in the news release. “We must take action now.”
The proposed bill is also known as Victoria, Scottie, Ashleigh, and Yader’s Law, named in memory of four young Maryland residents who died of a fentanyl overdose, the news release states.
Eighteen-year-old Victoria died in 2022, Scottie, 21, in 2019, Yader, 16, in 2022, and Ashleigh, 15, in 2023.
The bill would specifically prohibit an individual from distributing heroin, fentanyl or chemical analogues of heroin or fentanyl. If the person purchasing the drug suffers serious bodily injury or death, the dealer would be charged. If found guilty of a felony for violating the law, they would face up to 20 years in prison.
The same legislation is crossed-filed in the House as HB1398. The House Judiciary Committee will hold its hearing at 1 p.m., Feb. 18.
The bill was first introduced in last year’s legislative session, but did not make it out of committee.
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