We were as surprised as anyone when the Colorado Senate passed bipartisan legislation stepping up the penalties for peddling illegal drugs that result in death.

That’s not to doubt the urgent need for a common-sense measure like Senate Bill 23-109 to help stem our state’s ongoing epidemic of drug overdoses. But it faced long odds. The “justice reform” fringe that seems to hold sway over ruling Democrats at the legislature these days has been working overtime to go soft on crime and coddle criminals.

They fought SB 23-109 with an almost cult-like zeal – even though it is exactly what Colorado needs right now. The bill makes it a level one felony when anyone “sells, dispenses, distributes, or otherwise transfers any quantity of a controlled substance” that results in someone’s death.

Shamefully, even Senate President Steve Fenberg, D-Boulder, and Majority Leader Dominick Moreno, D-Commerce City, were a hard “no,” and Majority Whip Julie Gonzales, D-Denver, led the crusade to crush the bill.

Remarkably, seven of their fellow Democrats, including bill co-sponsor Sen. Kyle Mullica of Northglenn, crossed the aisle and voted with outnumbered Republicans, including co-sponsoring Republican state Sen. Byron Pelton, of Sterling, to pass the measure anyway.

That was March 22. It has languished in the House ever since.

It was supposed to be heard by the House Judiciary Committee, but by most accounts, committee Chair Mike Weissman, D-Aurora, who controls the flow of legislation in the committee, has bottled it up. (We reached out to Weissman but hadn’t heard back by press time.)

What’s the holdup? In all likelihood, it’s the same in the Democratic-controlled House as it was in the Senate. Notably, justice-reform hardliners don’t want to take a chance that their many moderate and sensible Democratic colleagues will cross party lines and vote for the bill.

The measure would be a boon to law enforcement in curbing overdoses from illegal drugs like fentanyl, heroin and meth. It would close a loophole created by different penalties for different lethal drugs. Right now, if two or more drugs are in the same mix that kills a user, a dealer’s lawyers can claim it’s unclear which substance caused the death. Raising the penalty to the same, higher level for all drugs that result in death will make it easier for prosecutors to take more dealers off the streets before they kill again.

The proposal is long overdue. Colorado recorded 1,258 overdose deaths involving opioids and 1,881 overdose deaths of all kinds in 2021, according to the latest state data available. More recent data for the state’s No. 1 city, Denver, showed 453 overdose deaths in 2022.

The bill has bipartisan sponsors in the House, too – Democratic Rep. Marc Snyder, of Colorado Springs, and Republican House Minority Leader Mike Lynch, of Wellington – as well as the support of the the Colorado District Attorneys’ Council.

It is supported by all Republicans but needs the votes of at least three Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee to make it to the House floor. That’s a distinct possibility considering co-sponsor Snyder sits on the committee. If only the bill can get a hearing.

If it survives the committee, its odds look even better in a vote by the full House. It will be more difficult at that point – with more of the general public plugged in and paying attention – to oppose such a reasonable solution to the overdose crisis.

As of Wednesday, SB 23-109 still wasn’t on the House calendar. It’s time for the Legislature’s Democratic leaders to set aside blind dogma – and save lives. Give this bill a hearing, and pass it into law.

Denver Gazette Editorial Board