Bains proposes task force to tackle fentanyl in Central Valley

Dec. 7—California lawmakers won't gather for the new legislative session until January, but they got their first chance to file bills on Monday.

In her first day in office, newly elected Assemblywoman Jasmeet Bains, D-Bakersfield, launched her first volley at the ongoing fentanyl crisis, a nationwide issue that contributes heavily to lethal and nonlethal overdoses in the Central Valley.

According to the California Department of Health, 5,722 Californians died last year as a result of fentanyl overdose, including 224 deaths of teenagers aged 15 to 19 years old.

"Fentanyl does not discriminate," Bains said in a Tuesday statement. "It kills people of all ages, gender, race, ethnicity and social status."

The first day of filing forecasts legislators' priorities, especially of the newly elected. It can also foretell legislative battles to come to Sacramento next year, such as issues over oil, homelessness and climate change.

As Kern County's newest Assemblywoman, Bains' bill, AB 33 would create a comprehensive task force in a Kern-specific effort to "solve the fentanyl crisis."

"My new legislation is designed to bring together the best experts from law enforcement, prosecutors, first responders, schools, addiction experts and community leaders — along with people who are fighting this scourge on the front lines — to develop real and lasting solutions," Bains said.

While new to politics, Bains, a medical doctor, is not new to medicine. She is the medical director at Bakersfield Recovery Services, a nonprofit focused on addiction and recovery. During her campaign Bains spoke heavily on several health issues, including fentanyl.

"I've seen too many patients in my community die of accidental fentanyl overdose and it's time we create a coordinated approach to stop this devastating drug from killing more of our neighbors," Bains said.