A new bipartisan Senate bill looks to impose harsher penalties for exposing children to fentanyl in Minnesota.
According to the Minnesota Health Department, in 2024 alone, 20 children under the age of five were exposed to fentanyl and overdosed.
Author of the bill, GOP Senator Paul Utke (Park Rapids) says it's time for a change.
"It's bringing it up to the felony level, which then adds the jail time and monetary penalty," Utke says. "Which I believe, we're only looking at this is a gross misdemeanor or something a lot less currently for the fentanyl."
This comes amid a 1,000% increase in nonfatal fentanyl poisonings nationwide in children under the age of 19 from 2015 to 2023.
The bill would up the penalties for exposing kids to the drug a Class-D felony.
Utke says while the issue is widespread, he's ready to tackle it here in Minnesota.
"Fentanyl is off the charts," he adds. "You know, everywhere you look, it's labeled the most dangerous drug. So this just brings that. It gets it into the right place in statute where because of how dangerous it is, it will have a penalty that follows how bad it is."
Utke says the bill will likely be added to a larger public safety package that the legislature is set to pass by the end of session.