OPINION: WA’s House Dems should vote on endangerment law

This editorial was published in The Seattle Times.

Washington House Democrats finally ought to put a child-safety bill up for a vote.

That’s what should happen to commonsense legislation that would extend existing child endangerment laws to include exposure to fentanyl.

Senate Bill 5071 was sponsored by a bipartisan group of senators, including Sen. Manka Dhingra, D-Redmond, and Senate Minority Leader John Braun, R-Centralia.

It would expand the scope of the crime of endangerment with a controlled substance to include fentanyl, not just substances related to methamphetamine.

Under current law, a person commits the crime of endangerment with a controlled substance if they knowingly permit a child to be exposed to methamphetamine or the chemicals necessary to manufacture it.

It is a class B felony, with a standard sentencing range of three to nine months to 63 to 84 months depending on the defendant’s criminal history.

Between 2019 and 2023, an average of three people per year were convicted of endangerment with a controlled substance. That’s just involving methamphetamine. Fentanyl is a far more serious problem.

According to a report last year by the state Office of the Family and Children’s Ombuds on child fatalities and serious injuries of kids under state protection, death and accidents involving fentanyl increased from 38 in 2022 to 57 in 2023.

Those supporting SB 5071 include Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison, King County Prosecuting Attorney Leesa Manion and Pierce County Prosecuting Attorney Mary Robnett.

“When a child is exposed to fentanyl, we need to both hold the adults accountable while also addressing the root cause of their underlying addiction,” said Manion. “The current law was written well before anyone foresaw the fentanyl crisis impacting our community — this statute must be updated to reflect today’s challenges.”

Testifying against SB 5071 was a representative of the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

On Feb. 5, the bill passed the state Senate by a bipartisan vote of 42-7.

It now sits in the House Community Safety Committee, chaired by Rep. Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland.

A similar bill died in this committee last year, and the year before that, even after passing unanimously in the Senate. House Democrats, according to Goodman last year, viewed the legislation as part of the failed war on drugs.

So let House Democrats take a vote. Go on record. If that’s the belief, stand up for it and make an argument, don’t simply kill the legislation by inaction. Or propose repealing the law on child endangerment when it involves methamphetamine, if all drug laws are bad.

Leaving the status quo leaves House Democrats open to criticism that they value ideological purity over protecting children’s lives. As the fentanyl crisis continues to take more lives, that stance ought to be politically untenable.

TNS