Government Healthcare Policy, Business and Technology

ME: House upholds LePage veto of bill to encourage reporting of overdoses

Portland Press Herald: AUGUSTA — House lawmakers on Tuesday upheld Gov. Paul LePage’s veto of a bill that sought to encourage people to seek help for drug overdose victims without fear of being arrested themselves. The bill had passed both chambers of the Legislature unanimously last month but, after LePage’s objections, enough House Republicans opposed the measure to sustain the governor’s veto. The 91-55 vote was short of the two-thirds majority needed to override LePage’s opposition. Before the vote, the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Barbara Cardone, D-Bangor, took issue with LePage’s assertions in his veto letter that the legislation would grant “immunity” to prosecution for users of illegal drugs. While the first version of the bill would have provided more sweeping protections, the version passed by the Legislature would have provided individuals with an “affirmative defense” against prosecution for drug possession if the charge resulted from a call they made to get help for someone who was overdosing. “It is an attempt to encourage those who may otherwise be afraid to call in an emergency situation and to save a life,” Cardone said during a brief House floor debate. “It is not an attempt to grant immunity to drug users for their drug use.”

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