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HB0085 • 2022

Child endangering-controlled substance use while pregnant.

AN ACT relating to crimes and offenses; creating a new endangering children felony; providing a penalty; and providing for an effective date.

Children Crime Healthcare Taxes
Did Not Pass

The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.

Sponsor
Representative Oakley
Last action
2022-03-07
Official status
inactive
Effective date
3/1/2022

Plain English Breakdown

The bill did not pass and was not enacted into law, so the exact penalties and enforcement details are speculative.

Law to Punish Pregnant Women for Using Certain Drugs

The bill proposes creating a new felony offense for pregnant women who use certain drugs without a prescription and sets penalties, including fines and imprisonment.

What This Bill Does

  • Creates a new law that makes it illegal for pregnant women to consume methamphetamine or other specific controlled substances classified in Schedule I or II unless prescribed by a licensed healthcare professional.
  • Specifies that violating this law is punishable with up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.
  • Requires the court to order probation and an addiction severity index (ASI) assessment for first-time offenders under this section.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Pregnant women who use methamphetamine or other specific controlled substances classified in Schedule I or II without a prescription from a licensed healthcare professional.

Terms To Know

ASI
Addiction Severity Index, an assessment tool used to evaluate the severity of addiction.
ASAM
American Society of Addiction Medicine, a professional organization that provides guidelines for treating substance use disorders.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill did not pass and was not enacted into law.
  • It is unclear how this would be enforced or what specific consequences it would have on healthcare providers who prescribe these drugs to pregnant women.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HB0085H2001

2nd reading • Representative Oakley

Adopted

Plain English: The amendment changes how courts handle violations of the new endangering children felony related to controlled substance use while pregnant.

  • Removes a specific clause that previously allowed for certain penalties under subsection (c) and replaces it with provisions for court-ordered probation, addiction assessment, and treatment for first offenses.
  • Adds language allowing courts to enter deferred sentences for violations of the new law.
  • The exact nature of 'subsection (c)' is not specified in the provided amendment text, making it unclear what specific actions or penalties are being modified.
HB0085H3001

3rd reading • Representative Provenza

Withdrawn

Plain English: The amendment proposes to remove a specific line from the bill's first page.

  • Removes line 5 on the first page of HB0085.
  • It is unclear what content was in line 5 and how its removal will affect the rest of the bill.
HB0085HW001

Committee of the Whole • Representative Yin

Failed

Plain English: The amendment removes specific language about methamphetamine from the bill text, which originally aimed to create a new felony for endangering children through controlled substance use while pregnant.

  • Removes references to methamphetamine in the bill's text.
  • It is unclear what the exact impact of removing these specific references will be on the overall intent and scope of the bill.
HB0085HW002

Committee of the Whole • Representative Yin

Adopted

Plain English: The amendment changes the definition of a drug used in the bill to align with a specific Wyoming statute.

  • Replaces the current definition of 'drug' in the bill with one from W.S. 35-7-1002(a)(xv).
  • The exact content and implications of W.S. 35-7-1002(a)(xv) are not provided, so the full impact of this change is unclear.
HB0085SW001

Committee of the Whole • Senator Nethercott

Withdrawn

Plain English: The amendment adds a new requirement for genetic testing in cases where someone is charged under a specific part of the bill related to endangering children while pregnant.

  • Adds a new subsection (e) that requires courts to order genetic testing for people charged with violating subsection (c) of the bill, either during pregnancy or after giving birth.
  • Specifies that efforts must be made to determine the paternity of the child involved in these cases.
  • The exact details and implications of requiring genetic testing are not fully explained beyond what is stated in the amendment text.
HB0085SW002

Committee of the Whole • Senator Nethercott

Withdrawn

Plain English: The amendment modifies the bill's language regarding penalties and sentencing requirements for a new endangering children felony, adding details about substance abuse assessments and placement evaluations.

  • Replaces 'a penalty' with 'penalties and other sentencing related requirements'.
  • Adds 'commits' before 'a second offense'.
  • Inserts 'not more than' after 'order'.
  • Expands references to substance abuse assessments and placement evaluations.
  • The amendment text does not provide specific details about the penalties or sentencing requirements, only that they will be included.
  • Some parts of the amendment may require additional context to fully understand their implications.
HB0085SW003

Committee of the Whole • Senator Nethercott

Withdrawn

Plain English: The amendment adds a new subsection to create a felony for knowingly impregnating someone who is consuming certain controlled substances without a prescription.

  • Adds a new subsection (d) that makes it illegal for anyone to knowingly impregnate another person while they are using methamphetamine or other specific Schedule I or II narcotic drugs, unless the drug was prescribed by a doctor.
  • The amendment text does not specify penalties for violating this new subsection (d).
  • It is unclear how this amendment would be enforced and what constitutes 'knowingly impregnating' another person.

Bill History

  1. 2022-03-07 Senate

    S COW:Failed 8-17-5-0-0

  2. 2022-03-04 Senate

    S Placed on General File

  3. 2022-03-04 Senate

    S01 - Judiciary:Recommend Do Pass 3-2-0-0-0

  4. 2022-03-02 Senate

    S Introduced and Referred to S01 - Judiciary

  5. 2022-03-02 Senate

    S Received for Introduction

  6. 2022-03-01 House

    H 3rd Reading:Passed 46-13-1-0-0

  7. 2022-02-28 House

    H 2nd Reading:Passed

  8. 2022-02-25 House

    H COW:Passed

  9. 2022-02-24 House

    H Placed on General File

  10. 2022-02-24 House

    H01 - Judiciary:Recommend Do Pass 7-2-0-0-0

  11. 2022-02-17 House

    H Introduced and Referred to H01 - Judiciary 46-13-1-0-0

  12. 2022-02-11 House

    H Received for Introduction

  13. 2022-02-09 LSO

    Bill Number Assigned

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
22LSO-0224
2022
STATE OF WYOMING
22LSO-0224
ENGROSSED
3.0

HOUSE BILL NO. HB0085

Child endangering-controlled substance use while pregnant.

Sponsored by: Representative(s) Oakley, Baker, Barlow, Crago, Flitner, Larsen, Romero-Martinez, Sommers and Winter and Senator(s) Baldwin, Driskill, Hutchings and Kolb

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to crimes and offenses; creating a new endangering children felony; providing a penalty; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1
.

W.S. 6
‑
4
‑
405 by creating a new subsection (c) and by amending and renumbering subsection (c) as (d) is amended to read:

6
‑
4
‑
405.

Endangering children; controlled substances; penalty.

(c)

No person, while pregnant, shall knowingly consume methamphetamine or a controlled substance classified in Schedule I or II that is a narcotic drug, as defined in W.S. 35-7-1002(a)(xv), unless prescribed by a licensed healthcare professional.

(c)
(d)

Any person who violates any of the provisions of subsection (a) or (b) of this section
or a second or subsequent violation of subsection (c) of this section
is guilty of endangering a child punishable by imprisonment for not more than five (5) years, a fine of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000.00), or both.
For a first offense under subsection (c) of this section, the court shall initially order probation, an addiction severity index (
ASI
) assessment and American society of addiction medicine (
ASAM
) placement evaluation and appropriate treatment pursuant to the
ASI
/
ASAM
results. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, for a violation of subsection (c) of this section, the court may enter a deferred sentence under W.S. 7
‑
13
‑
301 or 35
‑
7
‑
1037.

Section 2
.

This act is effective July 1, 2022
.

(END)

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HB0085