Emotional lawmaker describes Utah's fentanyl crisis as enforcement bill advances

SALT LAKE CITY — A bill that would criminalize fentanyl trafficking unanimously passed out of a Utah House committee Wednesday after an emotional hearing.

HB87, sponsored by Rep. Matthew Gwynn, R-Farr West, would make it a first-degree felony for someone to produce, distribute, or traffic fentanyl in the state. The House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice Committee unanimously approved the bill, sending it to the full House of Representatives for a vote.

Gwynn, who works as the Roy police chief, was visibly affected as he described the problems caused by fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid used to relieve pain.

"Over 600 times last year in the state of Utah, someone came home and found their son, daughter, or parent deceased from an opiate overdose," Gwynn said, his voice breaking.

His own parents died of opiate overdoses, Gwynn added, and he has witnessed the problem up-close as a law enforcement officer over the last 24 years.

"I cannot tell you the amount of times I've had to listen to the screams on the other end of a phone when family members are notifying other family members about their sister, their uncle," said Gwynn. "Those screams are repeated when they walk in the door."

Under his bill, Gwynn said, the first-degree felony would kick in for those who have 100 grams or more of fentanyl, and there would be a presumption that the offender would go to prison — though Gwynn noted that judges would still be able to use their discretion when imposing sentences.

"We can't treat this like we're treating other drugs," Gwynn said, pointing out that Utah is not just a pass-through state for fentanyl. "We are an end destination."

Gwynn's bill is one of several that lawmakers in the state have packaged to address public safety and illegal immigration — a focus for the incoming Trump administration and for many Republicans in the Legislature.

Several members of the public and some lawmakers shared emotional personal stories of friends or family members who have suffered because of illegal fentanyl, and the bill advanced largely unopposed.

Even defense attorneys — who often speak against bills that increase criminal penalties — spoke in favor of HB87. Mark Moffat, with the Defense Lawyers Association, told the panel he came to support the bill after learning of the scope of the fentanyl problem in the state of Utah and after working with Gwynn to address some concerns.

While fentanyl deaths have been declining nationwide in recent years, they have been on the rise in Utah, Gwynn said.

"Many of you have heard me come to this committee and testify against bills that increase penalties and create new felonies," Moffat said. "This bill does both, but I'm here to support it."

Moffat said the bill is "targeted to try to get the people who are bringing large sums of fentanyl into the state, not the casual users." He also spoke favorably of the provision allowing for judicial discretion in sentencing.

Marlesse Jones, director of Utah's Victim Services Commission, said the bill was a "priority" for the commission.

"The reason being — as we have eloquently and tragically heard from Rep. Gwynn — is those that struggle with addiction do not struggle in a vacuum," Jones said. "There are family members, there are children, there are loved ones that watch the struggle, and all too often have to then attend the funerals and the burials as a result of it."

Fentanyl has been a top issue for Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, who announced a task force to combat what he said are "skyrocketing" numbers of pill seizures in recent years, and members of his administration told lawmakers HB87 is a priority for the governor this year.

After cleaning its first legislative hurdle, HB87 now must pass the full House and Senate before being sent to the governor's desk.

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