Governor Glenn Youngkin is considering how he'll respond to a bill cracking down on drug dealers.
Thousands of people die of fentanyl overdoses in Virginia each year, creating a sense of urgency for members of the General Assembly. That's why they're sending the governor a bill that allows prosecutors to charge drug dealers with manslaughter.
"I think it does two things: It lets us charge the drug dealer, which we could not do before today, and it also makes it so if two users are using together, there's still a penalty but it's not the 40-year penalty it could have been," explains Republican Senate Leader Ryan McDougle.
He originally wanted the charge to be felony murder, but Democrats who control the General Assembly forced a compromise. But the negotiating is not over yet because the governor now has the opportunity to amend the bill. Here's Delegate Josh Thomas, a Democrat from Prince William who worked with the McDougle on the bill.
"It remains to be seen if the governor is going to be able to accept involuntary manslaughter," Thomas says. "But I just have to tell you there's just too much data out there that shows that felony murder is not fairly and equally applied across various defendants, particularly when it comes to race here in Virginia."
If the governor amends the bill with a harsher penalty, members of the General Assembly will have an opportunity to accept that change or reject the bill altogether.
This report, provided by Virginia Public Radio, was made possible with support from the Virginia Education Association.
