CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
ENGROSSED SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1956
Chapter 201, Laws of 2024
68th Legislature
2024 Regular Session
DRUG OVERDOSE PREVENTION AND AWARENESS EDUCATION
EFFECTIVE DATE: March 19, 2024
Passed by the House March 5, 2024 CERTIFICATE
Yeas 96 Nays 0
I, Bernard Dean, Chief Clerk of the
House of Representatives of the
LAURIE JINKINS State of Washington, do hereby
Speaker of the House of certify that the attached is
Representatives ENGROSSED SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE
BILL 1956 as passed by the House of
Representatives and the Senate on
the dates hereon set forth.
Passed by the Senate February 29,
2024
Yeas 46 Nays 0 BERNARD DEAN
Chief Clerk
DENNY HECK
President of the Senate
Approved March 19, 2024 2:54 PM FILED
March 21, 2024
Secretary of State
JAY INSLEE State of Washington
Governor of the State of Washington
 ENGROSSED SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1956
AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE
Passed Legislature - 2024 Regular Session
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2024 Regular Session
By House Appropriations (originally sponsored by Representatives
Leavitt, Griffey, Ryu, Couture, Ramel, Slatter, Reed, Ormsby,
Barnard, Callan, Timmons, Kloba, Cheney, Doglio, Paul, Berg,
Lekanoff, Reeves, Riccelli, Wylie, Hackney, Pollet, and Shavers; by
request of Office of the Governor)
READ FIRST TIME 02/05/24.
1 AN ACT Relating to fentanyl and other substance use prevention
2 education; adding a new section to chapter 43.70 RCW; adding a new
3 section to chapter 28A.300 RCW; creating new sections; providing an
4 expiration date; and declaring an emergency.
5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
6 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that overdoses
7 and overdose deaths, particularly from synthetic opioids, have
8 increased in recent years. According to the federal centers for
9 disease control and prevention, among persons aged 14 through 18,
10 overdose deaths increased 94 percent from 2019 to 2020 and 20 percent
11 from 2020 to 2021. In 2021, over 75 percent of all drug overdose
12 deaths involved opioids, with synthetic opioids, including fentanyl,
13 accounting for nearly 88 percent of those deaths. Between 2022 and
14 2023, Washington saw the largest increase in overdose deaths of any
15 state at 40 percent.
16 (2) The legislature recognizes that fatal overdose risk among
17 adolescents is increasing due to widespread availability of illicitly
18 manufactured fentanyl, proliferation of counterfeit pills resembling
19 prescription drugs but containing illicit drugs, and ease of
20 purchasing pills through social media. The United States drug
21 enforcement administration states that there is significant risk that
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 1 illegal drugs have been intentionally contaminated with fentanyl. As
2 a result, many young people may ingest a lethal dose without knowing
3 that they are consuming fentanyl.
4 (3) The legislature acknowledges that the level of public health
5 crisis created by use of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids
6 requires an immediate, substantial, and coordinated effort by
7 national, state, and local public health, social service, and
8 educational agencies working together.
9 (4) The legislature also acknowledges that the popularity of
10 drugs grows and wanes forming distinct drug epidemics, similar to
11 disease epidemics. As the popularity and availability of synthetic
12 opioids wanes, it is likely that some other substance will pose the
13 next acute public health crisis.
14 (5) Therefore, in order to combat the current public health
15 crisis of abuse of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, and to be
16 prepared to address the next drug epidemic before it reaches crisis
17 level, the legislature intends to direct the state department of
18 health to deploy a statewide substance use prevention and awareness
19 campaign that evolves to address the substance or substances with the
20 greatest impact on the health of Washington youth and their families,
21 diverse regions and communities, and the broader public. The
22 legislature also intends for the public education system to actively
23 incorporate campaign messages and materials in classrooms, as well as
24 in family and community communications.
25 NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 43.70
26 RCW to read as follows:
27 (1) The department shall develop, implement, and maintain a
28 statewide drug overdose prevention and awareness campaign to address
29 the drug overdose epidemic.
30 (2)(a) The campaign must educate the public about the dangers of
31 methamphetamines and opioids, including fentanyl, and the harms
32 caused by drug use. The campaign must include outreach to both youth
33 and adults aimed at preventing substance use and overdose deaths.
34 (b) The department, in consultation with the health care
35 authority, may also include messaging focused on substance use
36 disorder and overdose death prevention, resources for addiction
37 treatment and services, and information on immunity for people who
38 seek medical assistance in a drug overdose situation pursuant to RCW
39 69.50.315.
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 1 (3) The 2024 and 2025 campaigns must focus on increasing the
2 awareness of the dangers of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids,
3 including the high possibility that other drugs are contaminated with
4 synthetic opioids and that even trace amounts of synthetic opioids
5 can be lethal.
6 (4) Beginning June 30, 2025, and each year thereafter, the
7 department must submit a report to the appropriate committees of the
8 legislature on the content and distribution of the statewide drug
9 overdose prevention and awareness campaign. The report must include a
10 summary of the messages distributed during the campaign, the mediums
11 through which the campaign was operated, and data on how many
12 individuals received information through the campaign. The department
13 must identify measurable benchmarks to determine the effectiveness of
14 the campaign and recommend whether the campaign should continue and
15 if any changes should be made to the campaign. The report must be
16 submitted in compliance with RCW 43.01.036.
17 NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 28A.300
18 RCW to read as follows:
19 (1) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall
20 collaborate with the department of health, the health care authority,
21 other state agencies, and educational service districts to develop
22 age-appropriate substance use prevention and awareness materials for
23 school and classroom uses. These materials must be periodically
24 updated to align with substance use prevention and awareness
25 campaigns implemented by the department of health and the health care
26 authority.
27 (2) The office of the superintendent of public instruction shall
28 actively distribute the materials developed under subsection (1) of
29 this section to school districts, public schools, educational service
30 districts, and community-based organizations that provide extended
31 learning opportunities, and strongly encourage the incorporation of
32 age-appropriate materials in classrooms, as well as in family and
33 community communications.
34 NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) The office of the superintendent of
35 public instruction shall collaborate with the department of health,
36 the health care authority, other state agencies, and educational
37 service districts to develop school and classroom materials on the
38 lethality of fentanyl and other opioids in coordination with the
p. 3 E2SHB 1956.SL
 1 public health campaign created in section 2 of this act. The office
2 of the superintendent of public instruction must make these materials
3 available to school districts and public schools.
4 (2) By December 1, 2025, the office of the superintendent of
5 public instruction shall adjust the state health and physical
6 education learning standards for middle and high school students to
7 add opioids to the list of drugs included in drug-related education
8 and update the school and classroom materials developed under
9 subsection (1) of this section to reflect the adjusted standards
10 required by this subsection (2). The office of the superintendent of
11 public instruction must make these materials available to school
12 districts and public schools.
13 (3) This section expires July 1, 2026.
14 NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. This act is necessary for the immediate
15 preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of
16 the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes
17 effect immediately.
18 NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. If specific funding for the purposes of
19 this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not
20 provided by June 30, 2024, in the omnibus appropriations act, this
21 act is null and void.
22 NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. This act may be known and cited as the
23 Lucas Petty act.
Passed by the House March 5, 2024.
Passed by the Senate February 29, 2024.
Approved by the Governor March 19, 2024.
Filed in Office of Secretary of State March 21, 2024.
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