SB 44 – Monitoring Drug Overdoses – Heads to Carney

The House and Senate has unanimously passed Senate Bill 44, would allow the Drug Overdose Fatality Review Commission (DOFRC) to review all deaths related to drug overdoses, regardless of the substance involved. This change will allow the Commission to obtain and review all medical records, including substance abuse and mental health records, when there is a death related to a drug overdose.

Created in 2016, DOFRC is tasked with recommending steps the state can take to prevent future overdoses based on an examination of the facts and circumstances surrounding deaths resulting from previous prescription opioids, fentanyl, and heroin overdoses. Senate Bill 44 would allow the commission to better monitor the evolving nature of societal drug use over time and make proactive recommendations based on emerging trends. 

Senate Bill 44 Sponsors	Yes Votes	No Votes
Sturgeon, Hansen, Townsend, Mantzavinos, Paradee, Pinkney, Sokola, Walsh	Passed Senate 21-0. Brown Ennis Gay Hansen Lockman Mantzavinos Paradee Pinkney Poore S.McBride Sokola Sturgeon Townsend Walsh Bonini Hocker Lawson Lopez Pettyjohn Richardson Wilson	None
Lambert, Bentz, Baumbach, Griffith, Kowalko, Lynn, Morrison, Osienski, Briggs King	Passed House 40-0-1. Baumbach Bennett Bentz Bolden Bush Carson Chukwuocha Cooke Dorsey-Walker Griffith Heffernan K.Johnson K.Williams Kowalko Lambert Longhurst Lynn Matthews Minor-Brown Mitchell Morrison Osienski S.Moore Schwartzkopf Wilson-Anton Briggs King Collins D.Short Dukes Gray Hensley M.Smith Morris Postles Ramone Shupe Smyk Spiegelman Vanderwende Yearick	Brady (Absent)
Current Status — Out of Committee 3/9/21

Senator Laura Sturgeon on the bill’s passage: “I am extremely pleased to be able to report that my bill SB 44 has passed the House and is on its way to the Governor’s desk to be signed into law! By making this change, the Drug Overdose Fatality Review Commission will be able to monitor the changing nature of societal drug use over time – granting it the ability to make policy recommendations that will help with harm reduction and reduce future overdose deaths. Many thanks to Senators Stephanie Hansen and Bryan Townsend & Reps. Larry Lambert and David Bentz for their support in passing this legislation.