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Senate Co-Sponsorship Memoranda
Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2015 - 2016
Regular Session
MEMORANDUM
| Posted: | August 8, 2016 01:37 PM |
|---|---|
| From: | Senator Camera Bartolotta |
| To: | All Senate members |
| Subject: | New Crime for Drug Delivery Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury |
| In the near future, I will introduce legislation amending Title 18 to establish a second degree felony for the delivery or distribution of an illicit drug that results in "serious bodily injury" to the user. "Serious bodily injury" is currently defined in Title 18 as creating a substantial risk of death or which causes serious permanent disfigurement or protracted loss or impairment of a body member or organ. A troubling development in the illegal drug trade is the lacing of heroin with other powerful opiates such as fentanyl which, unfortunately, has caused the rate of overdoses to skyrocket in the last several years. Due to the absence of a corresponding state statute, district attorneys often refer these cases to federal prosecutors who can seek convictions for serious bodily injury under federal law. This places an undue strain on the United States Attorneys Office and takes away the ability of local prosecutors to pursue convictions in their home jurisdictions. This issue was brought to my attention during a recent public hearing in Beaver County hosted by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania exploring the impact of the heroin and opioid addiction crisis during which a panel of district attorneys shared testimony supporting the need for a state statute of this kind. Under my legislation, a felony of this nature would be considered a crime of violence under Title 18. As such, an initial conviction would not be subject to mandatory minimum sentences but subsequent offenses would be. Please join me to co-sponsor this legislation and provide a much-needed tool for prosecutors in the Commonwealth to combat our drug problem. |
Introduced as SB1361