Fentanyl bills await action from Governor Youngkin

With the Virginia General Assembly session over, there are several bipartisan bills lawmakers say are designed to reduce fentanyl overdoses now in the hands of Governor Glenn Youngkin. The General Assembly passed two identical bills to charge anyone who knowingly deals fentanyl that leads to an overdose death with involuntary manslaughter. If convicted of involuntary manslaughter, dealers would face 1-10 years in prison on top of the 5-40 years they already face for dealing fentanyl. Lawmakers also passed identical bills that would require all K-12 schools in Virginia to notify parents within 24 hours of a suspected drug overdose at their child’s school. Youngkin has until March 24 to consider the legislation.