NYS Sen. Dean Murray joined his Senate and Assembly colleagues, along with Suffolk County district attorney Raymond Tierney, Nassau County district attorney Anne T. Donnelly, various law enforcement organizations and overdose victims’ families, as they stood together to announce a bipartisan package of legislation aimed at fighting the deadly fentanyl crisis in the State of New York. The four pieces of legislation introduced by senators Dean Murray, Anthony Palumbo, Steven Rhoads and assemblyman Steve Stern, were drafted in consultation with the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office and would give law enforcement the legal tools necessary to get drug dealers off the streets. This package of bills would allow the D.A.s to charge drug dealers with manslaughter when they cause fatalities; add the drug, Xylazine, to the controlled substances list, requiring a prescription; allow prosecutors the ability to ask for bail for dealers pushing deadly fentanyl and other synthetic opioids; and allow overdose victims’ families to access the Crime Victims Fund to help pay for funeral expenses. Although this package of bills will not completely stop this crisis, it is certainly a step in the right direction and will go a long way in saving lives.
