PIERRE — By one vote, a Senate committee killed a bill Thursday that would have made it a felony to unintentionally expose law enforcement to controlled substances such as fentanyl.
Senators in their discussion about HB 1025 agreed they weren’t scientists but disagreed whether basic exposure, such as touching or inhaling small particles of the substance, could trigger an overdose-like reaction.
“There’s a difference between exposure and use and dosage,” said Sen. David Wheeler, R-Huron, noting a 2017 medical report found it nearly impossible to overdose on fentanyl by simply touching it. “The medical experts indicated that these are more likely to be panic attacks.”
Rep. Ben Krohmer, R-Mitchell, who sponsored the bill, presented body camera footage of incidents where it was believed that law enforcement responding to a drug call had suffered an overdose-like reaction when exposed to fentanyl, similar to what he presented in the House of Representatives.
However, in those incidents, a follow-up toxicology report was not administered to confirm that the officer had overdosed.