WFCN –
Bills that would have warned drug dealers that they may be charged with murder if they sold narcotics laced with fentanyl and caused the death of a person have been repeatedly blocked by California Democrats.
However, a diluted version of that initiative, dubbed Alexandra’s Law, found its way into a hurriedly drafted ballot item signed by Governor Gavin Newsom to alter Proposition 47, the 2014 voter-approved legislation that elevated some drug and larceny offenses to misdemeanors.
District lawyers successfully positioned a different initiative on the November ballot, which the governor’s plan was intended to oppose. However, the night before lawmakers were scheduled to vote on it, Newsom abandoned his idea. The Democrats’ hurried addition of Alexandra’s Law irritated supporters and solidified their backing for their proposal rather than the district attorneys’ proposal.
The father of the policy’s namesake, Alexandra Capelouto, Matt Capelouto, said, “The political games that they play, it’s shameful.” For them, everything is a game. It is not about doing what is best for the populace. Actually, it’s simply them that wins or loses.
Failed Laws of Alexandra
Last year, Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana) tried to pass a bill that included Alexandra’s Law twice, but Democrats blocked it.
The insurance bears the name of Capelouto’s daughter, a 20-year-old Temecula resident who passed away in 2019 after ingesting half of an oxycodone prescription that she was unaware contained fentanyl.
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Under the plan, defendants found guilty of several narcotics offenses using fentanyl would have had to hear a warning from the courts. It would suggest that if they sold or gave drugs that killed someone in the future and they knew or should have known the material contained fentanyl, they may be “charged with homicide, up to and including the crime of murder.”
In the event that the recipient of the advise is subsequently charged with drug-related offenses that result in a fatality, the warning could aid prosecutors in establishing a case for second-degree murder, the staff analysis of the bill states.
Despite having numerous senators as coauthors, Umberg’s bill was never able to pass the Senate Public Safety Committee. Members noted that it would not prevent overdose deaths and voiced worries that it would attract customers who were unaware that the drugs they were selling contained fentanyl.
Umberg attempted to destroy and modify an Assembly measure this year by using Alexandra’s Law, which would have allowed it to pass the Senate and enter the House without going through the Public Safety Committee. However, the leaders never delegated it to a committee.
A Part of the ballot proposition Prop. 47
Then, Newsom and lawmakers included the policy in their proposed ballot proposal right before a month-long legislative recess. The governor and leaders of the legislature had made several attempts to get the California District Attorneys Association to withdraw their effort that would have altered Proposition 47.
Their proposal, which included a more limited form of Alexandra’s Law, was intended to rival the district attorney’s measure by amending Proposition 47.
Umberg referred to the measure’s inclusion as a “marriage of convenience” for those leaders attempting to quickly get their legislation through the Capitol.
He stated, “It would be more likely to pass the Legislature because it was popular and because so many lawmakers had supported it as coauthors.”
According to Capelouto, the governor’s and parliamentarians’ proposal “came out of left field.”
He claimed that no one was in contact with him at first regarding mentioning his daughter or inserting the policy. Assemblyman Joe Patterson of Rocklin, according to Capelouto, was the one who initially told him about it. When the Assembly initially considered the issue on the floor, Patterson highlighted the fact that no one had spoken with Capelouto as a reason to dissuade supporters.
Capelouto declared his support for Proposition 36, the district attorneys’ proposed legislation that incorporates a more expansive version of Alexandra’s Law. Umberg stated that he will continue to advocate for Alexandra’s Law in the Legislature if that fails, even if he doesn’t believe that its inclusion in the Democratic initiative will make matters any simpler.
Umberg declared, “I’m going to pursue this until it becomes law as a commitment to the families — those who have lost, particularly young people, to fentanyl.”