Florida Senate committees now reviewing bill that would allow fentanyl dealers to charged with murder

A bill that would allow dealers who distribute the fentanyl or synthetic forms of the drug that lead to someone’s death to be charged with murder is now being reviewed by committees in the Florida Senate. The measure passed unanimously in the Florida House last week.

HB 477, co-introduced by Rep. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, also adds fentanyl, carfentanil and several other synthetic forms of the drug to the list of Schedule I controlled substances. These drugs have been blamed for intensifying the heroin epidemic in Manatee County.

The bill, passed Thursday by the House, also would add a charge of trafficking in fentanyl to the current statute, making it a first-degree felony to possess more than four grams of fentanyl, with mandatory minimum prison terms and mandatory fines.

Late Tuesday, the bill was received in the Senate and referred to the Criminal Justice, Judiciary and Appropriations committees.

“We have been working on this since last May,” Boyd said late Wednesday afternoon. “Its a horrible, horrible problem that all of us are trying to do our best to deal with.”

The bill has been a comprehensive effort that has included Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells and his staff, Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and her staff, the Florida Sheriff’s Association as well as scientists and chemists, he said, in making sure the language of the bill is as effective as it can be.

The bill should be making it’s way to the Senate floor as the legislative session draws to a close, said Boyd, who is hopeful the measure will pass.

Meanwhile the Senate version of the bill, SB 150, was approved in a 14-2 vote by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday.

Boyd was confident that once the HB 477 was passed by the Senate, lawmakers could combine both bills and get the legislation to Gov. Rick Scott’s desk.

“I'm looking forward to getting it signed into law,” Boyd said.

Fentanyl — an opioid painkiller 100 times more powerful than morphine — is being cut into heroin supplies or sold as heroin. More recently, carfentanil — 10,000 times more powerful than morphine and often used as a tranquilizer to subdue large exotic animals such as rhinos, elephants and hippos — and other synthetic forms of fentanyl are being cut into or sold as heroin.

This story was originally published April 26, 2017 at 4:16 PM with the headline "Florida Senate committees now reviewing bill that would allow fentanyl dealers to charged with murder."