We urge you to reach out to your legislators on the Senate Law & Justice Committee with support for SB 5536 and SB 5467, making ‘knowing’ possession of a controlled substance a gross misdemeanor and encouraging individuals to participate in treatment programs in lieu of criminal penalties. Both of these bills had public hearings on Monday morning, and we appreciate the city officials who testified in support.

Your legislators needs to hear from cities that:

• The current system isn’t working. The current two-referral requirement has created legal uncertainty and, in some cases, impedes individuals from accessing treatment. SB 5536 and SB 5467 create clear criminal penalties while focusing on getting individuals into treatment.
• There need to be more treatment alternatives for individuals struggling with substance use disorder or have unmet behavioral health needs.
• Cities need funding to implement solutions. We urge the legislature to provide additional funding to help develop new therapeutic courts and alternative response programs that provide access to treatment and options beyond law enforcement for responding to situations.

We believe both of these bills address some of the issues that cities are currently facing and help add treatment options without compromising public safety. They have similar intents with different approaches to treatment based diversion. We understand that SB 5536 is the bill that will likely advance. We will continue to work with the sponsors to explore combining some of the concepts from both bills into the bill that moves forward.

Want more?

SB 5536 also designates substance use disorder treatment programs as essential public facilities. Need help remembering what that means for your city? MSRC just published this helpful guide on essential public facilities.

AWC has published several articles about the Blake bills. You can find the most recent article here.

You can read more about AWC’s Blake Legislative priority on our fact sheet.

Dates to remember

SB 5536 and SB 5467 are scheduled for public hearing in the Senate Law & Justice Committee on Monday, February 6 at 10:30 am and for executive session in the same committee on Thursday, February 9 at 8 am.