Alabama fentanyl sentencing bill signed into law

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WSFA) - The Alabama Senate unanimously passed a bill Thursday morning that creates mandatory minimum sentences for possession of fentanyl. The bill previously passed the Alabama House with unanimous consent. Gov. Kay Ivey signed the bill into law Thursday afternoon.

“The entire nation should take note of what we accomplished today in Alabama with the passage of House Bill 1, the bill to help combat the fentanyl crisis,” Ivey said. “Every member of the Legislature – Republican and Democrat – came together to pass this critical piece of legislation.”

Few pieces of legislation bring together both parties for unanimous support, but that’s exactly what happened with Republican state Rep. Matt Simpson’s bill. Under the legislation, one gram of fentanyl would require a three-year sentence and up to eight grams would mean life in prison.

Mandatory minimum sentences have a long, often negative history in the nation, but the sheer deadliness of the drug is why Democrat state Sen. Rodger Smitherman threw his support behind the bill.

“Combatting this deadly drug will continue to be a top priority for our Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, and I will do everything in my power to stop this drug from being a killer in Alabama,” Ivey said.

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