Gov. Mike Dunleavy on July 11 signed into law a bill originally aimed at curbing the meteoric rise in opioid overdoses in the state, but which turned into comprehensive crime legislation that Alaska lawmakers approved in the final hours of the legislative session.
Lawmakers built the wide-ranging law around Dunleavy’s proposal to increase penalties for fentanyl and methamphetamine dealers. The law also directs the state to look into why minority groups are overrepresented in the prison system, creates the crime of assault in front of a child, tightens restrictions around sex and labor trafficking and requires the state to evaluate people accused of certain violent crimes for involuntary commitment.
The bill passed 19-1 in the Senate and 33-6 in the House.
Under the new law, drug distributors or manufacturers will be liable for second-degree murder if a person dies as a result of their use.
Alaska had the fastest rising rate of overdose deaths in the country in 2021 and proponents of the change say it will deter crime.
Dunleavy said the change is an appropriate response to Alaska’s drug-overdose crime, which is dominated by fentanyl, a powerful synthetic opioid.
While fatal overdoses declined in most states last year, Alaska’s drug-caused death toll continued to climb sharply, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in May.
Alaska has 342 fatal overdoses in 2023, a record-high number, according to state data.
The CDC, using slightly different data, calculated that Alaska had a 33.32% increase in overdose deaths from January 2023 to January 2024, the highest among all U.S. states for that period.
The law also includes a number of provisions aimed at keeping children safe and protecting people from trafficking. It creates the crime of assault in front of a child and changes the term “child pornography” to “child sexual abuse material” and creates the crime of assault in front of a child.
The law also makes it a felony to pay for sex with someone who is a victim of sex trafficking.
Lawmakers also adopted an amendment from Wasilla Sen. David Wilson that requires the Department of Corrections to contract a study of why certain racial groups are disproportionately represented in the state’s prison system and develop recommendations to reduce first encounters with the system.
Another provision of the bill requires the Department of Corrections to contract for a study to investigate the disproportionate representation of Alaska Native people in the state’s prison system and to develop recommendations to reduce recidivism.
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