MACo Initiative, legislation SB 546, Civil Actions – Immunity from Liability – Emergency Medical Care for a Drug Overdose, was heard on March 4, 2015 in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee. MACo Policy Analyst Natasha Mehu testified in support of this bill as well as the similar SB 214. This bill would help reduce the growing number of overdose related deaths by providing civil immunity protections to properly trained emergency responders that are responding to a drug overdose call.

The written testimony (SB 546) explains:

Law enforcement or emergency medical services are often the first to arrive on the scene of a drug overdose. Therefore, strides have been made to train and equip law enforcement and first responders with naloxone, a life-saving medication that reverses an opioid overdose by restoring the breathing of a person who has overdosed on heroin or prescription opioid such as oxycodone or morphine. SB 546 incorporates immunity protections for law enforcement and first responders trained and authorized to administer the medicine to an individual experiencing or believed to be experiencing a drug overdose.

For more on MACo’s 2015 legislation, visit the Legislative Database.