A bipartisan group of legislators that includes State Rep. Dennis Keene (D-Wilder) is working to produce a compromise bill to address the problems associated with heroin use in Kentucky.
Keene filed House Bill 53 and several other lawmakers have filed heroin-related bills. The State Senate has already passed its version of a heroin bill. Keene, according to a news release, is meeting with those other legislators in Frankfort to seek a single piece of legislation that can be passed during the 2015 General Assembly session.
That group of legislators met Thursday.
“The consequences of heroin use are severe in our region,” said Keene. “In Northern Kentucky alone, the number of court cases relating to heroin has increased 500 percent from 2008 to 2012. This is a priority issue for me and we must pass a bill this session to begin to address the problem.”
In 2014, heroin legislation died in the House of Representatives. Keene, on Thursday at the Northern Kentucky Forum, blamed a filibuster for the death of the heroin bill while Republicans blamed politics. A last-dicth effort to include public-private partnership legislation as an amendment to the heroin bill is often cited as a culprit in the bill’s demise.
Keene’s bill includes the following provisions for dealing with heroin:
- Increased jail time for drug traffickers;
- If a victim dies because of an overdose; trafficker would be charged with criminal homicide;
- Officer protection through needle stick immunity;
- Incentives to cooperate with law enforcement;
- Increased treatment coverage (treatment, needle exchange option, parental rights, access to overdose antidote).
“Researchers at the University of Kentucky estimate that drug abuse overall costs Kentucky $6 billion annually in health care, treatment, accidents and other expenses,” said Keene. “The time is now to pass meaningful legislation that will address the problem and provide support for law enforcement and our judicial system when dealing with this massive issue.”
The General Assembly reconvenes on February 3 for the remainder of the 2015 legislative session.
-Staff report