As fentanyl overdoses reach an alarming rate across New York State, Governor Kathy Hochul has squashed a bill intended to combat the deadly crisis. The bill was unanimously passed in a bipartisan effort by all members of the Assembly and Senate in June, but it sat idle until after Hochul’s election before she shot it down.
In October, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration announced their largest seizure in New York City’s history after recovering 15,000 fentanyl pills of various colors intended to make the drug look fun.
Furthermore, over a 15 week period across New York State, the DEA seized over 500,000 lethal pills, according to DEA Special Agent in Charge Frank Tarentino. Approximately 40% of fentanyl pills distributed contain fatal doses, he noted.
As the fentanyl crisis reaches an all-time high across New York State, Democratic and Republican lawmakers worked together to create a plan to start saving lives.
The bill created a task force to help prevent fentanyl abuse and overdoses. The task force would have contained 16 experts from various positions. The newly appointed members would have consulted with various organizations and government entities and recommended the next steps to legislators.
Not so fast, said Hochul, who political opponents have accused of being pro-crime. Five months after the Assembly and Senate unanimously approved the bill, Hochul nixed the legislation because she said it would cost too much money.
Hochul wrote in an explanation for the veto, “None of these costs are accounted for in the State Financial Plan.” The bill was introduced in February of 2022. The state budget is approved every April.
