22 March 2023
TOPEKA, Kan. (KSNW) — The house of representatives unanimously passed House Bill 2390 last month that would decriminalize fentanyl test strips, but the Senate Committee of Public Health and Welfare opted to get rid of that part, among other portions.
Although everyone in the house was in favor, and many in the senate committee, it still wasn’t enough. The committee voted 5-4 to strip the bill of decriminalizing fentanyl test strips, legislation many say they are in favor of.
Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are now worried this could lead to more overdose deaths.
“This is crushing families, it’s crushing communities,” Jason Probst (D-Hutchinson) said. “And we have this simple tool that doesn’t cost the state anything to do. All we have to do is say this isn’t illegal anymore.”
Gutting the bill has left some lawmakers confused, including those on the Senate Committee for Public Health and Welfare. Kristen O’Shea is on the committee and voted not to strip the bill.
“I personally don’t understand it,” Senator O’Shea (R) said. “It passed the house 121 to 0, and so why should five people on a committee be able to completely take that part out? I don’t know.”
Senator O’Shea says the five lawmakers who voted to strip the bill did not explain why they choose to do it.
“People haven’t stated out loud why they’re against it,” O’Shea said. “Some people are saying that it is law-enforcement, and law enforcement has stayed neutral on the issue.”
Both Senator O’Shea and Representative Probst plan to try other ways to decriminalize fentanyl test strips.
“There are still several mechanisms left in the session to try to get it done,” Probst said. “They’re definitely harder than if the Senate had just passed out a clean bill that was unanimously, supported by 121 members of the house.”
They say decriminalizing fentanyl test strips could save lives because many people who overdose on the drug don’t know they even ingested it.
KSN reached out to the five members on the committee on public health and welfare who voted yes to stripping the bill, but they did not respond.