S4786A

The New York State Senate passed S4786A, a Public Health Law amendment, 52-10 on January 30th, but rejected a floor amendment that would have addressed the opioid crisis by allowing bail for fentanyl dealers. Sen. Rhoads appealed Acting President Bailey's ruling that the amendment was nongermane, arguing it was directly related to the bill's focus on drug manufacturing. Rhoads contended the amendment was necessary to close what he called a "bail reform loophole" allowing dealers possessing up to 8 ounces of fentanyl to be released without bail. He cited statistics showing fentanyl deaths in New York increased 70 percent from 2019 to 2021, with 5,000 fentanyl deaths in 2021 alone. The proposed amendment would have amended the Criminal Procedure Law to allow bail on Class A-2 felonies for criminal sale and possession of controlled substances including fentanyl, methamphetamines, LSD, and nitazene. The appeal to overturn the chair's ruling failed on a show of hands vote of 20-0, sustaining the presiding officer's determination. The bill then passed on a roll call vote with 10 senators voting against it: Ashby, Gallivan, Helming, Lanza, Oberacker, O'Mara, Ortt, Palumbo, Stec, and Weik.