PROVIDENCE – If politics is the art of who gets what, when and how, then the legislative process to enact laws is often the practice of wielding and preserving political power, status and wealth.

Most legislative drama occurs offstage, behind closed doors, in a kind of sausage-making enterprise that can transform those weak of heart or stomach into a vegetarian.

The actual voting process becomes a kind of staged performance ritual: the bill is introduced and seconded, speeches are made, the roll is called, the votes are tabulated, the results are announced, and the gavel comes down. [There is little surprise about the outcomes.]

In turn, there are many untold stories as to why a bill never becomes a law – intricate dances that may begin with great hope and then end abruptly, without any public explanation, sinking beneath the weight of hidden agendas, egos, or lobbyists.

The case of the Good Samaritan Law
Such was the case in June of 2015, with the attempt to renew the Good Samaritan Law, scheduled to expire on July 1, 2015.

The Senate had passed a reauthorization bill; there was a version pending in the House awaiting a vote when the R.I. General Assembly abruptly shut down.

The Good Sam law was left in the lurch, falling off the proverbial legislative cliff, despite a torrent of pleas by advocates.

What exactly happened may never be known, save for the obvious: House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello and Senate President M. Teresa Paiva Weed had words.

The result: the Senate President adjourned the Senate, effectively ending the 2015 R.I. General Assembly session. Mattiello had no choice but to follow suit.

And, despite frequent hints throughout the summer by the House Speaker that the unfinished business would be addressed in special session in the fall, that special session never happened.

The fact that the state was in the midst of a continuing crisis, with hundreds of Rhode Islanders dying each year from accidental drug overdoses from heroin and prescription painkillers, and the Good Sam law sought to save lives by providing protections for those who called 911, did not seem to matter.

One big reason why the renewal of the Good Sam law failed to reach a vote in the House was resistance from R.I. Attorney General Peter Kilmartin, who opposed the 2015 Senate version, believing that the potential immunity it offered to save lives trespassed on the capability of law enforcement to prosecute those who were selling drugs.

Whether a potential drug overdose was an emergency health scene or a criminal scene became a dividing line in policy, one that has yet to be resolved.

[Now, there appears to be a working agreement in place between House and Senate leaders to enact a Good Samaritan Law as a first order of business in the 2016 legislative session.]

Poignancy and priority
Fast forward to last week, when the R.I. Senate reconvened for its 2016 session: one of the very first orders of business was passage of 2016-S 2002, “An Act Related To Food and Drugs – The Good Samaritan Overdose Prevention Act of 2016.”

The legislation was passed on Jan. 6 by a vote of 35-1, with only Sen. Frank Ciccone voting no.

By making the passage of the Good Samaritan Law the first order of business in the Senate, Paiva-Weed appeared to be sending a clear message: let’s make this the law of Rhode Island. The reinstated law no longer has a sunset provision, and it does not contain the controversial provision protecting individuals from “intent” to deliver drug charges for those who call 911.

The companion legislation, 2016-H 7003, sponsored by Rep. Robert Craven, will be heard Jan. 12 before the House Judiciary Committee. A vote is expected the following week.

Amidst the rote of legislative process, the Senate vote offered a rare moment of poignancy and compassion: former Sen. Rhoda Perry, whose son Alex had died in December of 2015 after a long struggle with drug addiction, was an honored guest in attendance.

In introducing the new legislation, Sen. Michael McCaffrey, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, paid tribute to Perry, recalling her words from 2012 in urging passage of the original Good Samaritan Law: “Ultimately, saving a life is much more important than an arrest or a lawsuit. This bill is about putting human lives first.”

Responses and reactions
Michelle McKenzie, the board chair at RICares, a community recovery advocacy group, said she hoped that the state would have a Good Samaritan Law in place before the end of January.

McKenzie praised the new Senate version. “The provisions that expand on the 2012 law -- protections for people on probation and parole, and doing away with a sunset clause – truly assist those of us doing overdose prevention and intervention work in the community in making the case for calling 911,” she told ConvergenceRI.

McKenzie called the passage of the Good Sam legislation a critical step in promoting community recovery supports and expanding substance use disorder treatment opportunities, a key component of RICares work. “Calling 911 not only saves lives, but it provides the opportunity to link people to recovery coaches and treatment, through the Anchor ED program,” she said.

McKenzie said that broader prosecutorial protections, such as not prosecuting “intent to deliver” charges, would allow for a very simple message: “In the case of an overdose, call 911, without fear of arrest.”

However, that provision is not part of the current Good Sam law.

McKenzie also offered suggestions of other efforts by law enforcement that could also serve as a way to decrease fear of calling 911, as well as assist in linking substance-involved individuals to treatment.

“Diversion programs, such as the Assisted Addiction and Recovery Initiative, co-found ed by Police Chief Campanello in Gloucester, Mass., or the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion Program in Seattle, Wash., are promising strategies in moving from a primarily criminal justice approach to a public health approach,” she said, offering that RICares would be delighted to partner with local law enforcement agencies in such efforts.

Law and order
Amy Kempe, the spokeswoman for R.I. Attorney General Peter Kilmartin, responded to ConvergenceRI questions about Kilmartin’s position on the new Good Samaritan Law with the following response: “Attorney General Kilmartin believes in the merits of and supports the intention of a Good Samaritan Law – to ensure those experiencing an overdose get access to emergency care, and those who call 911 are not prosecuted.”

However, Kempe continued, Kilmartin still voiced concern about any provision in a Good Samaritan Law that would shield those who traffic in drugs – even though the bill that passed the Senate does not contain such a provision, and neither does its companion version introduced in the House.

“Expanding immunity to those who manufacture and distribute narcotics would protect those who are selling heroin and operating drug houses that enable heroin use,” Kempe said, which in Kilmartin’s opinion, would put those individuals suffering from substance use disorders at much greater risk of an overdose.

Saving lives
Thomas Joyce, the associate director of Recovery Support Services and the Anchor Recovery Community, applauded legislators for their quick action in addressing the reinstatement of the Good Samaritan Law.

“This law saves lives,” he told ConvergenceRI. “Without it, the overdose epidemic that we are experiencing in Rhode Island just increases – with more lives being unnecessarily lost. Addiction is a disease, and one life lost to overdose is too many.”

Surviving an overdose is a life-changing moment, Joyce continued. It is also an opportunity to be connected to treatment and recovery support services, including programs such as AnchorED, which provides recovery coaches at hospital emergency rooms.

“We at The Providence Center believe that recovery is possible,” Joyce said. “This law will allow us to continue to provide vital recovery support services to individuals when they need them most.”

The view from New Hampshire
Holly Cekala, the director of Recovery Supports at HOPE for NH, in Manchester, N.H., a leader in community recovery efforts, has found herself and her organization at the center of what has emerged to be an important issue in the 2016 Presidential politics – addiction and the heroin epidemic.

Cekala told ConvergenceRI that New Hampshire has a Good Samaritan Law and that many are supportive of it.

“Gov. Maggie Hassan has secured $450,000 to distribute Narcan kits and train folks how to use it here in New Hampshire,” she said.

Numerous presidential candidates have visited the HOPE for NH center, Cekala continued, including Jeb Bush and his wife, Chris Christie and his wife, and Bernie Sanders. “They all seemed to be in full support of Narcan being readily available to save lives, but they also talked about access to treatment,” Cekala said, saying that Narcan is not the answer to the whole issue.

Cekala, the former director at RICares, said that she was pleased to hear that the R.I. Senate took action in voting for the Good Sam law, “empowering people to save lives with the use of Narcan.” She said she hoped that the R.I. House would follow the Senate’s lead.