Today, California Senate Republicans proposed an amendment to Assembly Bill 544 (D-Bryan) to increase the penalties for drug dealers in possession of fentanyl and a firearm, which were mirrored after Senator Alvarado-Gil’s previously introduced Senate Bill 226. Senate Democrats shut it down without any discussion. Click HERE to view the final vote on the amendments and HERE to watch Senator Alvarado-Gil's Floor speech.
“Harm reduction efforts alone will not solve this problem,” said Senator Marie Alvarado-Gil (R-Jackson) who introduced the measure on the Senate Floor today. “We must tackle the problem from the other side of the equation as well. Fentanyl dealers must know they will have to answer for their deadly crimes, and we must send the message to those who would take their place that they will be held accountable, too.”
Democrat senators rejected the amendments today. Ironically, on Thursday, the governor noted that some 4,638 pounds of fentanyl powder and over 8.8 million pills containing fentanyl have been seized in the state this year alone. To put that in perspective, assuming the lethal dose of 2 milligrams, this might be enough fentanyl to kill over 1 billion people. The amendment proposed by Senator Alvarado-Gil would have held these very criminals accountable and kept them off the streets. Legislative Democrats just don’t care, but they want you to think they do.
In just the last few weeks, Southern California police uncovered a clandestine drug lab in Fountain Valley with around 300,000 fentanyl pills bagged up and ready to go. In addition, customs and border patrol officers discovered 361 pounds of fentanyl and cocaine hidden in a flatbed truck trailer attempting to enter the country via Otay Mesa.
Fentanyl overdoses continue to grow. In 2022, 6,473 people in California died from fentanyl overdoses.
Horrifyingly, fentanyl deaths in toddlers and infants is trending. They are now “the most common cause of fatal poisonings in young children and represent a significant public health challenge.”
“Californians are tired of the inaction and soft-on-crime policies,” said Senate Republican Caucus Chair Kelly Seyarto (R-Murrieta). "What we need to do is show that there will be serious consequences to poisoning people with drugs like fentanyl. Bills like SB 226 by my colleague, Sen. Alvarado-Gil, need to get a fair shot at a debate in the legislature instead of being shut down because it doesn’t fit the supermajority’s agenda of the moment.”