A proposed overhaul of the state's controlled-substances penalties that would raise sentences for fentanyl trafficking and create enhanced penalties when trafficking "results in death" was tabled by a House committee after heated testimony from victims' relatives, law-enforcement leaders and criminal-justice reform advocates.

Sponsor Representative Reed and cosponsor Representative Nicole Chavez described House Bill 107 as a response to a surge in fentanyl-related deaths. The bill, as presented, would move counterfeit Schedule I and II narcotics into trafficking statutes with steeper sentences: sponsors said the measure would create a nine-year sentence for a first trafficking conviction and a statute authorizing 18 years (with a minimum of 12) when trafficking "results in death." Subsequent offenses that result in death were described by the sponsor as exposing defendants to life imprisonment.

Supporters included district attorneys, chiefs of police, the New Mexico State Police and business groups who urged strong enforcement against organized distributors. Tom Clayton, a district attorney, said traffickers profit from a drug that is killing residents and that strong sentences would deter suppliers.

Opposition speakers — including the ACLU, the state's public defender office and recovery advocates — warned that mandatory minimums and broadly written trafficking thresholds could sweep in low-level sellers and users and deepen racial disparities in the criminal-justice system. Kim Chavez Cook of the public defenders' office said the bill's "resulting in death" construct lacks the proximate-cause and culpability elements used in homicide statutes and could lead to unintended prosecutions of people whose conduct did not legally cause a death.

The hearing included emotional family testimony from people who lost loved ones to fentanyl. Several parents and relatives urged decisive action against traffickers; JD Bullington of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce said the measure aimed to deter dealers and organized traffickers who knowingly move lethal product.

After debate, a motion to give the bill a due pass was made and seconded, followed by a substitute motion to table. The committee recorded a 3to2 vote to table House Bill 107; two committee members opposed tabling. Sponsors said they will rework parts of the bill and consider threshold amounts and other refinements to better target high-level traffickers while addressing concerns about mandatory minimums.

The committee's decision to table the bill stops further action for now. Proponents said they will return with amendments aimed at improving focus on large-scale traffickers while opponents urged investment in treatment and diversion strategies.