FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – Gov. Matt Bevin urged lawmakers to take action to relieve Kentucky of its drug-addition problems Wednesday as a House panel advanced a measure aimed at creating tougher penalties for fentanyl dealers and stopping the overprescribing of powerful painkillers.
The legislation cleared the House Judiciary Committee with bipartisan support. While endorsing the measure, Bevin said no amount of government money or rehabilitation programs will fix Kentucky’s drug woes until action is taken to reduce the state’s acute drug addiction rate.
“We’ve got to make it harder to get addicted,” he told the committee.
The committee’s action came a day after the state Senate passed its own bill that would create tougher penalties for people caught trafficking smaller amounts of heroin or fentanyl. That measure is headed to the House. Both chambers are controlled by Republicans.
Kentucky is plagued by the nation’s third-highest death rate from opioid overdoses, said Republican Rep. Kimberly Poore Moser, lead sponsor of the bill heard by the House committee.
“This is a public health crisis,” she said.