Existing law, as added by the Victims Bill of Rights, approved as Proposition 8 at the June 8, 1982, statewide primary election, and as amended by the Gang Violence and Juvenile Crime Prevention Act of 1998, approved as Proposition 21 at the March 7, 2000, statewide primary election, among other things, defines a serious felony.

Existing law prohibits plea bargaining in a case in which a serious felony is charged and imposes a 5-year enhancement for conviction of a serious felony if the person has previously been convicted of a serious felony.

This bill would include knowingly furnishing fentanyl and fentanyl analogs to a minor within the definition of a serious felony. By expanding the scope of an enhancement, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Existing law, as added by the Victims Bill of Rights, approved as Proposition 8 at the June 8, 1982, statewide primary election, and as amended by the Gang Violence and Juvenile Crime Prevention Act of 1998, approved as Proposition 21 at the March 7, 2000, statewide primary election, among other things, defines a serious felony.

Existing law prohibits plea bargaining in a case in which a serious felony is charged and imposes a 5-year enhancement for conviction of a serious felony if the person has previously been convicted of a serious felony.

This bill would include furnishing fentanyl and fentanyl analogs to a minor within the definition of a serious felony. By expanding the scope of an enhancement, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

ASSEMBLY THIRD READING

ATR Bill Id:AB 1667

Author:(Boerner)

As Amended Ver:May 18, 2026

Majority vote

SUMMARY

Adds fentanyl and fentanyl analogs to the list of controlled substances for which it is a "serious" felony to sell, furnish, administer, or give to a minor when the defendant knew that the substance was fentanyl or a fentanyl analog.

Major Provisions

COMMENTS

According to the Author

"Fentanyl is increasingly affecting our communities. Its proliferation has had disastrous consequences. This bill is a common-sense measure that ensures that the drugs on the existing serious felony list include a deadly contemporary drug: fentanyl. We should be protecting our children from drugs that can cause serious, even fatal harm."

Arguments in Support

According to California Narcotics Officers Association, "Under Penal Code section 1192.7(c)(24), it is a serious felony to sell, furnish, administer, or give to a minor certain controlled substances such as heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and phencyclidine (PCP)."

"Fentanyl, however, is not included in this list despite being one of the most lethal and rapidly proliferating synthetic opioids in the illicit drug market."

"Fentanyl is up to 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. A dose as small as two milligrams can be fatal. We've all witnessed the death and destruction this toxic substance has caused in our communities in recent years."

"As the author has highlighted, The [California Department of Public Health] (CDPH) noted in 2021 an opioid-related rate of 8.7 deaths per 100,000 California residents among those 10-19-years-old. According to a UCLA Health news release, an average of 22 adolescents 14 to 18 years of age died in the U.S. each week in 2022 from drug overdoses, raising the death rate for this group to 5.2 per 100,000-- driven by fentanyl in counterfeit pills."

"AB 1667 is a common sense bill that would add fentanyl to the current serious felony list as applied to adults who furnish illicit fentanyl to minors."

Arguments in Opposition

According to the Drug Policy Alliance, "We all want to keep young people safe and healthy, and protect them from the harms of drug use. However, increasing sentencing enhancements, as this bill does, have been consistently found to be ineffective in reducing drug sales and protecting the safety of young people, and instead exacerbate racial inequities in the criminal legal system."

"Adding an additional offense to 1192.7 would add additional years to a sentence and massive costs to taxpayers and to an incarcerated person's family. These high costs will bring no positive outcome in terms of reduced drug use, drug sale, or death from overdose. Increased penalties have historically been found ineffective in reducing availability and use among current and potential consumers of illicit substances."

"Current California law is already too draconian, focused on expensive incarceration, rather than more evidence-based investments in public health and drug treatment strategies. The current penalty for furnishing fentanyl to a minor (absent any enhancements for great bodily injury or other offenses) is three, six, or nine years in jail. AB 1667 would add many more years and require doubled sentences and incarceration in state prisons for any subsequent felony conviction. The United States Department of Justice and others have concluded, based on available evidence, that the threat of long sentences does not deter crime."

"The estimated per capita cost of incarceration in Los Angeles County for one year is approximately $90,000. The per capita cost of incarceration in a state prison in California exceeds $127,000. It would be healthier, safer and better for public safety to invest in expanding access to substance use treatment in our communities, which is presently inadequate in many parts of the state. For the cost of incarcerating one person in state prison for a year, California could provide medication treatment for approximately 17-19 people experiencing substance use disorder. Funding a robust, voluntary drug treatment system is a far more productive investment."

"The state has made a sizable investment in adolescent substance use prevention. In 2024, the Substance and Addiction Branch of California Department of Public Health launched a multi-million-dollar public education campaign Facts About Fentanyl, targeting young people online and through various other forms of media. Advertisement and materials are available in Korean, Spanish, Chinese, as well as English, and provided in partnership with Tribal governments. These and other evidence-based education approaches, including expanding investments in voluntary substance use disorder treatment are far more meaningful and effective investments."

"Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) is the leading organization in the U.S. focused on addressing harms of drug use and drug criminalization through a holistic approach to drugs that prioritizes health, equity, social supports and community wellbeing. Instead of wasting taxpayer dollars on ineffective approaches, leaders should fund what works: proven health solutions that help communities stay alive, be healthy, and thrive. DPA opposes AB 1667 (Boerner) as inconsistent with that vision, and a step backward toward the failed drug war approach to drug problems."

FISCAL COMMENTS

According to the Assembly Appropriations Committee, "Incarceration costs (General Fund) of an unknown but potentially significant amount to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), possibly in the hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. As discussed in more detail below, a person charged with or convicted of a serious felony is likely to receive a longer prison term than they would for a standard felony and will receive a significantly longer sentence if they are convicted of any subsequent serious felonies. Longer sentences will result in increased incarceration costs to CDCR in the long term.

" The actual number of people convicted each year for selling fentanyl to minors is unknown. CDCR data shows 26 new admissions into state prison in 2026 with a primary or secondary offense of selling controlled substances to minors. By way of illustration, if there are three people convicted of selling fentanyl to a minor and each person is later convicted of another serious felony, this bill will result in each of them receiving a mandatory five-year enhancement in addition to their underlying sentence. The Legislative Analyst's Office estimates the average annual cost to incarcerate one person in state prison is $128,000. CDCR estimates the annual cost is $135,921. If even two people serve an additional one year each in prison because of this bill, the resulting incarceration costs to CDCR would exceed this committee's suspense threshold. Actual costs will depend on the number of relevant offenses and judicial discretion, but the overall effect will be an increase in incarceration costs resulting from designating this offense as a serious felony.

"The Legislative Analyst's Office recently warned of General Fund structural deficits of around $35 billion per year in the 2027-28 fiscal year and ongoing."

VOTES

ASM PUBLIC SAFETY: 9-0-0

YES: Schultz, Alanis, Mark González, Haney, Harabedian, Lackey, Nguyen, Ramos, Sharp-Collins

ASM APPROPRIATIONS: 11-0-4

YES: Wicks, Aguiar-Curry, Calderon, Caloza, Fong, Mark González, Krell, Pacheco, Pellerin, Sharp-Collins, Solache

ABS, ABST OR NV: Hoover, Dixon, Ta, Tangipa

UPDATED

VERSION: May 18, 2026

CONSULTANT: Andrew Ironside / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744 FN: 0002907

Date of Hearing: April 8, 2026

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Buffy Wicks, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:AB 1667

Author:(Boerner) – As Introduced Ver:January 29, 2026

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: Yes Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill makes selling, furnishing, administering, or giving fentanyl to a minor a “serious” felony by adding fentanyl and fentanyl analogs to a statutorily defined list of controlled substances.

FISCAL EFFECT:

Incarceration costs (General Fund) of an unknown but potentially significant amount to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), possibly in the hundreds of thousands of dollars annually. As discussed in more detail below, a person charged with or convicted of a serious felony is likely to receive a longer prison term than they would for a standard felony and will receive a significantly longer sentence if they are convicted of any subsequent serious felonies. Longer sentences will result in increased incarceration costs to CDCR in the long term.

The actual number of people convicted each year for selling fentanyl to minors is unknown. CDCR data shows 26 new admissions into state prison in 2026 with a primary or secondary offense of selling controlled substances to minors. By way of illustration, if there are three people convicted of selling fentanyl to a minor and each person is later convicted of another serious felony, this bill will result in each of them receiving a mandatory five-year enhancement in addition to their underlying sentence. The Legislative Analyst’s Office estimates the average annual cost to incarcerate one person in state prison is $128,000. CDCR estimates the annual cost is $135,921. If even two people serve an additional one year each in prison because of this bill, the resulting incarceration costs to CDCR would exceed this committee’s suspense threshold. Actual costs will depend on the number of relevant offenses and judicial discretion, but the overall effect will be an increase in incarceration costs resulting from designating this offense as a serious felony.

The Legislative Analyst’s Office recently warned of General Fund structural deficits of around $35 billion per year in the 2027-28 fiscal year and ongoing.

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. According to the author,

Fentanyl is increasingly affecting our communities. Its proliferation has had disastrous consequences. This bill is a common-sense measure that ensures that the drugs on the existing serious felony list include a deadly contemporary drug: fentanyl. We should be protecting our children from drugs that can cause serious, even fatal harm.

1. Background. Certain controlled substances, including fentanyl, are illegal to sell, furnish, administer, or give away to a minor. Under existing law, the crime is elevated to a “serious” felony when the substance is cocaine, PCP, heroin and methamphetamine. Fentanyl sale to a minor is not considered a “serious” felony. Unlike these other drugs, fentanyl is often mixed with other substances or used in counterfeit pills, often unbeknownst to the seller.

In the California Penal Code, a “serious felony” has a particular legal meaning. Being charged with or convicted of a serious felony has significant implications for the way a defendant’s case proceeds and sentencing for subsequent offenses. For example, plea bargaining is prohibited in any case in which the defendant is charged with a serious felony, meaning that a prosecutor cannot offer such a defendant an opportunity to plead guilty to a lesser offense in exchange for information about other, potentially more culpable perpetrators. If a person who has been convicted of a serious felony is later convicted of another serious felony, the court must impose an automatic five-year sentence enhancement in addition to their base sentence. A person facing a felony charge who has previously been convicted of a serious felony may not be granted probation for their current offense.

Currently, selling or otherwise furnishing heroin, cocaine, PCP, or any methamphetamine-related drug is a serious felony subject to the conditions described above. This bill additionally designates selling or providing fentanyl to a minor as a serious felony. Under existing law, selling fentanyl to a minor is punishable as a felony by a base term of three, six, or nine years in state prison. Under this bill, anyone charged or convicted of selling fentanyl to a minor will be subject to the conditions described above, and, if they are later convicted of another serious felony, would receive a substantially longer prison sentence for that offense.

1. Prior Legislation. AB 568 (Lackey), of the 2025-2026 Legislative Session, was substantially similar to this bill, but was amended to include a knowledge requirement before being gut-and-amended in the Senate.

SB 432 (Seyarto), of the 2025-2026 Legislative Session, was substantially similar to this bill. SB 432 was held in suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Analysis Prepared by: Shiran Zohar / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing:

Chief Counsel: Andrew Ironside

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON

Nick Schultz, Chair

ABPCA Bill Id:

Author:() – As Ver:

SUMMARY:

Adds fentanyl and fentanyl analogs to the list of controlled substances for which it is a “serious” felony to sell, furnish, administer, or give to a minor.

EXISTING LAW:

1. Provides that a person 18 years of age or older who solicits, induces, encourages, or intimidates any minor with the intent that the minor shall violate laws with respect to either specified controlled substances, including cocaine or heroin, who unlawfully sells, furnishes, administers, gives, or offers to sell, furnish, administer, or give, those controlled substances to a minor, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a period of three, six, or nine years. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11353.)
2. Specifies that any person who is convicted of a violation of Health and Safety Code section 11353, in addition to the punishment imposed for that conviction, shall receive an additional punishment as follows:
   1. One year in state prison if the offense involved heroin, cocaine, cocaine base, or any analog of these substances and occurred upon the grounds of, or within, a church or synagogue, a playground, a public or private youth center, a child day care facility, or a public swimming pool, during hours in which the facility is open or in use.
   2. Two years in state prison if the offense involved heroin, cocaine, cocaine base, or any analog of these substances and occurred upon, or within 1,000 feet of, the grounds of any public or private elementary, vocational, junior high, or high school, during hours that the school is open or in use.
   3. One, two, or three years in state prison if the offense involved a minor who is at least four years younger than the defendant. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11353.1, subd. (a).)
3. States that a person 18 years of age or older who solicits, induces, encourages, or intimidates any minor with the intent that the minor shall violate specified laws involving controlled substances, including methamphetamine-related drugs and phencyclidine (PCP), or who unlawfully furnishes, offers to furnish, or attempts to furnish those controlled substances to a minor shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a period of three, six, or nine years. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11380, subd. (a).)
4. Specifies that any person who is convicted of a violation of Health and Safety Code section 11380, in addition to the punishment imposed for that conviction, shall receive an additional punishment as follows:
   1. One year in state prison if the offense involved PCP, methamphetamine, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), or any analog of these substances and occurred upon the grounds of, or within, a church or synagogue, a playground, a public or private youth center, a child day care facility, or a public swimming pool, during hours in which the facility is open or in use.
   2. Two years in state prison if the offense involved PCP, methamphetamine, LSD, or any analog of these substance and occurred upon, or within 1,000 feet of, the grounds of any public or private elementary, vocational, junior high, or high school, during hours that the school is open or in use.
   3. One, two, or three years in state prison if the offense involved a minor who is at least four years younger than the defendant. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11380.1, subd. (a).)
5. States that a person who was convicted of a violation of specified controlled substance offenses including Health and Safety Code sections 11353 and 11380, who has previously served two or more prior separate prison terms for a violation of those listed offenses, may be punished in the state prison for life and shall not be eligible for release on parole for 17 years, or other sentence determined by the court for the underlying conviction and any enhancements, whichever is greater. (Pen. Code, § 667.75.)
6. States that a person who sells, furnishes, administers, or gives away a controlled substance is deemed to have personally inflicted great bodily injury for purposes of sentence enhancement when the person to whom the substance was sold, furnished, administered or given suffers a significant or substantial physical injury from using the substance. (Pen. Code, § 12022.7, subd. (f)(2); added by Proposition 36, approved by voters on Nov. 5, 2024.)
7. Defines the following offenses as “serious” felonies:
   1. Murder or voluntary manslaughter;
      
   2. Mayhem;
      
   3. Rape;
      
   4. Sodomy by force, violence, duress, menace, or threat or fear of bodily injury;
      
   5. Oral copulation by force, violence, duress, menace or threat or fear of bodily injury;
      
   6. Lewd act with child under fourteen years of age;
      
   7. Any felony punishable by death or life imprisonment;
      
   8. Any felony in which defendant personally inflicts great bodily injury on any person other than an accomplice or personally uses a firearm;
      
   9. Attempted murder;
      
   10. Assault with intent to commit rape or robbery;
       
   11. Assault with a deadly weapon or instrument on a peace officer;
       
   12. Assault by a life prisoner on a non-inmate;
       
   13. Assault with a deadly weapon by an inmate;
       
   14. Arson;
       
   15. Exploding a destructive device or any explosive with intent to injure;
       
   16. Exploding a destructive device or any explosive causing bodily injury, great bodily injury, or mayhem;
       
   17. Exploding a destructive device or any explosive with intent to murder;
       
   18. Burglary of an inhabited dwelling;
       
   19. Robbery or bank robbery;
       
   20. Kidnapping;
       
   21. Holding a hostage by an inmate;
       
   22. Attempt to commit a crime punishable by life imprisonment or death;
       
   23. Any felony where defendant personally used a dangerous or deadly weapon;
       
   24. Selling, furnishing, administering, giving, heroin, cocaine, PCP, or methamphetamine to a minor;
       
   25. Forcible penetration with a foreign object;
       
   26. Grand theft involving a firearm;
       
   27. Any gang-related felony;
       
   28. Assault with the intent to commit mayhem or specified sex offenses;
       
   29. Maliciously throwing acid or flammable substances;
       
   30. Witness intimidation;
       
   31. Assault with a deadly weapon or firearm or assault on a peace officer or firefighter;
       
   32. Assault with a deadly weapon on a public transit employee;
       
   33. Criminal threats;
       
   34. Discharge of a firearm at an inhabited dwelling, vehicle, or aircraft;
       
   35. Commission of rape or sexual penetration in concert;
       
   36. Continuous sexual abuse of a child;
       
   37. Shooting from a vehicle;
       
   38. Any attempt to commit a “serious” felony other than assault;
       
   39. Any violation of the 10 years, 20 years, 25 years to life gun law;
       
   40. Possession or use of any weapon of mass destruction;
   41. Sex trafficking of a minor except where the person committing the offense was a victim of human trafficking at the time of the offense; and,
       
   42. Any conspiracy to commit a “serious” felony. (Pen. Code, § 1192.7, subd. (c).)
8. Prohibits plea bargaining in any case in which the indictment or information charges a “serious” felony unless there is insufficient evidence to prove the charge, the testimony of a material witness cannot be obtained, or a reduction or dismissal would not result in a substantial change in sentence. (Pen. Code, § 1192.7, subd. (a)(2).)
9. Provides that any person convicted of a “serious” felony who has previously been convicted of a “serious” felony receives, in addition to the sentence imposed by the court, an additional and consecutive five-year enhancement for each such prior conviction. (Pen. Code, § 667, subd. (a)(1).)
10. Prohibits granting of probation on a current felony conviction if the defendant has one or more prior “serious” or “violent” felony convictions. (Pen. Code, §1170.12, subd. (a)(2).)

FISCAL EFFECT:

Unknown

COMMENTS:

1. Author's Statement: According to the author, “Fentanyl is increasingly affecting our communities. Its proliferation has had disastrous consequences. This bill is a common-sense measure that ensures that the drugs on the existing serious felony list include a deadly contemporary drug: fentanyl. We should be protecting our children from drugs that can cause serious, even fatal harm.”
2. Background on Fentanyl and Fentanyl-Related Substances: Fentanyl was synthesized in 1959 and has been used medically since the 1960s.^[1] The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) provides this description of fentanyl^[2]:

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine.

There are two types of fentanyl: pharmaceutical fentanyl and illegally made fentanyl. Both are considered synthetic opioids (made in a laboratory). Pharmaceutical fentanyl is prescribed by doctors to treat severe pain, especially after surgery and for advanced-stage cancer.

However, most recent cases of fentanyl-related overdose are linked to illegally-made fentanyl, which is distributed through illegal drug markets for its heroin-like effect. It is often added to other drugs because of its extreme potency, which makes drugs cheaper, more powerful, more addictive, and more dangerous.

According to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), illegally-made fentanyl is sold as powders, nasal sprays, and pressed into pills to look like legitimate prescription opioids. The DEA reports that they’ve analyzed counterfeit pills ranging from .02 to 5.1 milligrams of fentanyl per tablet. 42 percent of pills tested contained at least 2mg of fentanyl which is considered a potentially lethal dose. However, lethality depends on a person’s body size, tolerance and past usage.

Some users of illegally-made fentanyl are unaware that fentanyl is in the counterfeit pill or the illegal controlled substance they were seeking and would have no idea how much fentanyl is contained in the product. However, many people who use or overdose on fentanyl knowingly take the drug because it provides an intense high.^[3]

1. Existing Laws on Selling or Furnishing Controlled Substances to Minors: Existing law prohibits selling, furnishing, administering, giving away specified controlled substances, or offering to commit those acts, to a minor. (Health & Saf. Code, §§ 11353, 11380.) The punishment for a violation of such an offense is three, six, or nine years in state prison. Sentence enhancements of one to three years are available to add on to a person’s sentence for the underlying crime when the defendant is four years older than the minor, or if the offense occurred at specified locations such as a school, church or community centers. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11353.1.) When those controlled substances include heroin, cocaine, PCP, or methamphetamine, the conviction qualifies as a strike for purposes of the Three Strikes Law. (Pen. Code, § 1192.7.) Enhanced sentencing including a life sentence may also apply to a person with prior convictions involving controlled substances. (Pen. Code, § 667.75.) A sentence enhancement of three years may also be added if the person to whom the substance was sold, furnished, administered or given suffers a significant or substantial physical injury from using the substance, such as an overdose. (Pen. Code, § 12022.7, subd. (f)(2).) The application of the preceding enhancement would also make the offense a “violent” felony, resulting in among other things reduced in-custody credit earning opportunities. (Pen. Code, § 667.5, subd. (c)(8). See Pen. Code, § 2933.1, subd. (a); Cal. Code Regs., tit. 15, § 3043.2.)^[4]

Additionally, there have been other recent changes in the law which have the potential to increase punishment for this crime. Proposition 36 of the November 2024 general election contained a provision called “Alexandra’s Law.” Pursuant to this provision, the court must warn a defendant convicted of, or entering a plea to, manufacturing, distributing, selling, furnishing, administering or giving away “hard drugs” (including fentanyl) that if they do so again, and if someone dies, they could be charged with murder. (Health & Saf. Code, § 11369.) So, a subsequent conviction for furnishing fentanyl to a minor could potentially lead to a much longer sentence than a five-year enhancement, as is required under current law.

The jury instructions applicable to Health and Safety Code sections 11353 and 11380 require the following elements to be proven beyond a reasonable doubt for a person to be convicted of those offenses:

• 1. The defendant unlawfully sold/furnished/administered/gave away a controlled substance to another;
  2. The defendant knew of the presence of the controlled substance;
  3. The defendant knew of the substance’s nature or character as a controlled substance;
  4. At that time, the defendant was 18 years of age or older;
  5. At that time, the person sold/furnished/administered/given the controlled substance was under 18 years of age;
  6. The substance was a controlled substance or an analog of a controlled substance; and,
  7. The controlled substance was in a usable amount. (CALCRIM No. 2380.)

Fentanyl is included in the controlled substances that are illegal to sell, furnish, administer, give away to a minor. Thus, the main effect of this law is to include the crime on the list of controlled substances that elevate the crime to a “serious” felony when the substance is cocaine, PCP, heroin and methamphetamine. As discussed above, illicit fentanyl is commonly mixed with other controlled substances, such as heroin and cocaine, oftentimes unbeknownst to the seller and buyer. Also, if the substance is mixed with cocaine, heroin or methamphetamine, the crime would already be a “serious” felony.

1. Harsher Sentences Unlikely to Reduce Drug Use or Deter Criminal Conduct: Ample research on the impact of increasing penalties for drug offenses on criminal behavior has called into question the effectiveness such measures. In a report examining the relationship between prison terms and drug misuse, PEW Charitable Trusts found “[n]o relationship between drug imprisonment rates and states’ drug problems,” finding that “higher rates of drug imprisonment did not translate into lower rates of drug use, arrests, or overdose deaths.”^[5]
   
   This may be because of the limited deterrent effect of harsher sentences generally. According the U.S. Department of Justice, “Laws and policies designed to deter crime by focusing mainly on increasing the severity of punishment are ineffective partly because criminals know little about the sanctions for specific crimes. More severe punishments do not ‘chasten’ individuals convicted of crimes, and prisons may exacerbate recidivism.”^[6]
   
   Harsher sentences for drug trafficking offenses specifically may be particularly ineffective, in part because of the nature of illicit drug markets.^[7] The Council on Criminal Justice reviewed the evidence on the effect of harsher punishments on criminal behavior, finding:

The empirical evidence on selective incapacitation suggests that long sentences may produce short- and long-term public safety benefits for individuals engaged in violent offending, but may produce the opposite effect for those engaged in drug-related offending…where an incarcerated individual is quickly replaced by a new recruit. This “replacement effect” occurs—and undermines the overall crime-reducing effects of incapacitation—when there is “demand” for a particular criminal activity. The illicit drug business offers the most obvious example: when someone who plays a role in a drug trafficking organization is incarcerated, someone else must take his or her place.^[8]

According to PEW, “[A] large body of prior research…cast[s] doubt on the theory that stiffer prison terms deter drug misuse, distribution, and other drug-law violations.”^[9] PEW concludes:

Putting more drug-law violators behind bars for longer periods of time has generated enormous costs for taxpayers, but it has not yielded a convincing public safety return on those investments. Instead, more imprisonment for drug offenders has meant limited funds are siphoned away from programs, practices, and policies that have been proved to reduce drug use and crime.^[10]

By adding selling, furnishing, administering, or giving of fentanyl to a minor to the “serious” felony list, persons convicted of this offense would earn fewer credits towards their sentences, thereby increasing the length of their sentences. One might reasonably question whether this oft-used approach will produce positive public safety outcomes.

1. Recommended Amendments: Given available punishments for this conduct and reasonable questions about the deterrent value of longer terms of incarceration, perhaps this bill should be limited in application to the people whose conduct is intentional. A sensible approach could be to require knowledge that the substance sold, furnished, administered, or given away was fentanyl or a fentanyl analog, particularly since fentanyl is often mixed with other substances or used in counterfeit pills, often unbeknownst to the seller. AB 568 (Lackey), of the 2025-2026 Legislative Session, was amended to include this knowledge requirement last year and received widespread support on the Assembly floor, before being gut and amended in the Senate. The same approach also made it out of the Senate Public Safety Committee.^[11]

Should this bill be amended to include a knowledge requirement?

1. Three Strikes Law: In 1994, California voters passed Proposition 184, knowns as the “Three Strikes and You’re Out” law that defined qualifying “strikes” as those felonies listed as "serious" or "violent" on June 30, 1993. That same year, the California Legislature passed similar legislation that was signed into law. (AB 971 (Jones), Chapter 12, Statutes of 1994.) Collectively, Proposition 184 and AB 971 became known as California’s Three Strikes law which imposes longer prison sentences for certain repeat offenders. Proposition 21 of the March 2000 primary election added crimes to the lists of serious and violent felonies and defined qualifying prior strikes as a felony listed as “serious” or “violent” felonies as of March 8, 2000, the date that the Proposition 21 took effect.

The Three Strikes law requires a person who is convicted of a felony and who previously has been convicted of one or more “violent” or “serious” felonies, known as strikes, to be subject to an alternative sentencing scheme. Specifically, if the person has one prior strike, the sentence on any new felony conviction must be double what is specified by statute. If the person has two prior strikes, the sentence on any new felony conviction was 25 years to life, although this provision was amended by Proposition 36, approved by voters in 2012, to require that the third strike must be a serious or violent felony in order to impose the life term.

The Three Strikes law contains a statutory lock-in date whereby only the offenses listed in the serious or violent list as of the specified date qualify as strikes. (Pen. Code, § 667.1.) Currently, the statute contains two dates to reflect a change to the list and lock-in dates in 2012^[12] and again in 2023^[13]:

• • • • 1. Notwithstanding subdivision (h) of Section 667, for all offenses committed on or after November 7, 2012, but before January 1, 2024, all references to existing statutes in subdivisions (c) to (g), inclusive, of Section 667, are to those statutes as they read on November 7, 2012.
        2. Notwithstanding subdivision (h) of Section 667, for all offenses committed on or after January 1, 2024, all references to existing statutes in subdivisions (c) to (g), inclusive, of Section 667, are to those statutes as they read on January 1, 2024. (Pen. Code, § 667.1; see also Pen. Code, § 1170.125.)
           

This bill does not amend the statutory lock-in dates.

1. Argument in Support: According to California Narcotics Officers Association, “Under Penal Code section 1192.7(c)(24), it is a serious felony to sell, furnish, administer, or give to a minor certain controlled substances such as heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine, and PCP.
   
   “Fentanyl, however, is not included in this list despite being one of the most lethal and rapidly proliferating synthetic opioids in the illicit drug market.
   
   “Fentanyl is up to 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent than morphine. A dose as small as 2 milligrams can be fatal. We’ve all witnessed the death and destruction this toxic substance has caused in our communities in recent years.
   
   “As the author has highlighted, ‘The CDPH noted in 2021 an opioid-related rate of 8.7 deaths per 100,000 California residents among those 10-19-years-old. According to a UCLA Health news release, an average of 22 adolescents 14 to 18 years of age died in the U.S. each week in 2022 from drug overdoses, raising the death rate for this group to 5.2 per 100,000-- driven by fentanyl in counterfeit pills.
   
   “AB 1667 is a common sense bill that would add fentanyl to the current serious felony list as applied to adults who furnish illicit fentanyl to minors.”
   
2. Argument in Opposition: According to the Drug Policy Alliance, “We all want to keep young people safe and healthy, and protect them from the harms of drug use. However, increasing sentencing enhancements, as this bill does, has been consistently found to be ineffective in reducing drug sales and protecting the safety of young people, and instead exacerbate racial inequities in the criminal legal system.
   
   “Adding an additional offense to 1192.7 would add additional years to a sentence and massive costs to taxpayers and to an incarcerated person’s family. These high costs will bring no positive outcome in terms of reduced drug use, drug sale, or death from overdose. Increased penalties have historically been found ineffective in reducing availability and use among current and potential consumers of illicit substances.
   
   “Current California law is already too draconian, focused on expensive incarceration, rather than more evidence-based investments in public health and drug treatment strategies. The current penalty for furnishing fentanyl to a minor (absent any enhancements for great bodily injury or other offenses) is 3, 6, or 9 years in jail. AB 1667 would add many more years and require doubled sentences and incarceration in state prisons for any subsequent felony conviction. The United States Department of Justice and others have concluded, based on available evidence, that the threat of long sentences does not deter crime.
   
   “The estimated per capita cost of incarceration in Los Angeles County for one year is approximately $90,000. The per capita cost of incarceration in a state prison in California exceed $127,000. It would be healthier, safer and better for public safety to invest in expanding access to substance use treatment in our communities, which is presently inadequate in many parts of the state. For the cost of incarcerating one person in state prison for a year, California could provide medication treatment for approximately 17-19 people experiencing substance use disorder. Funding a robust, voluntary drug treatment system is a far more productive investment.
   
   “The state has made a sizable investment in adolescent substance use prevention. In 2024, the Substance and Addiction Branch of California Department of Public Health launched a multi-million dollar public education campaign Facts About Fentanyl, targeting young people online and through various other forms of media. Advertisement and materials are available in Korean, Spanish, Chinese, as well as English, and provided in partnership with Tribal governments. These and other evidence-based education approaches, including expanding investments in voluntary substance use disorder treatment are far more meaningful and effective investments.
   
   “Drug Policy Alliance is the leading organization in the U.S. focused on addressing harms of drug use and drug criminalization through a holistic approach to drugs that prioritizes health, equity, social supports and community wellbeing. Instead of wasting taxpayer dollars on ineffective approaches, leaders should fund what works: proven health solutions that help communities stay alive, be healthy, and thrive. DPA opposes AB 1667 (Boerner) as inconsistent with that vision, and a step backward toward the failed drug war approach to drug problems.”
   
3. Prior Legislation:
   
   1. AB 568 (Lackey), of the 2025-2026 Legislative Session, was substantially similar to this bill. AB 568 was gut and amended into a different subject matter in the Senate.
   2. SB 432 (Seyarto), of the 2025-2026 Legislative Session, was substantially similar to this bill. SB 432 was held in suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee.
   3. SB 14 (Grove), Chapter 230, Statutes of 2023, added sex trafficking of a minor, except if the person committing the offense was a victim of sex trafficking at the time of the offense as specified, to the list of “serious” felonies for all purposes, including the Three Strikes Law.
   4. SB 1042 (Grove), of the 2021-2022 Legislative Session, would have added human trafficking to the list of “violent” felonies as well as to the list of “serious” felonies for all purposes, including for purposes of the Three Strikes Law. SB 1042 failed passage in the Senate Public Safety Committee.
   5. AB 537 (Acosta), of the 2017-2018 Legislative Session, would have added crimes, including human trafficking involving sexual exploitation, to the list of “serious” felonies. AB 537 failed passage in this committee.
   6. AB 1321 (Stone), of the 2013-2014 Legislative Session, would have added crimes, including human trafficking, to the list of “serious” felonies. AB 1321 was held in this committee.
      
   7. AB 1188 (Pan), of the 2011-2012 Legislative Session, would have added four new offenses relating to child abuse to the list of “violent” felonies, and added five new offenses related to human trafficking and the abuse of a child to the “serious” felony list. AB 1188 failed passage in this committee.
   8. AB 16 (Swanson), of the 2009-2010 Legislative Session, would have added human trafficking to the list of “serious” and “violent” felonies. AB 16 failed passage in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.
   9. SB 440 (Denham), of the 2009-2010 Legislative Session, would have added the crimes of child abuse likely to produce great bodily injury or death, physical child abuse, killing, mutilating, or torturing a domestic animal, elder abuse for which the defendant was incarcerated in state prison, and escape or attempted escape by force or violence to the lists of “serious” felonies as well as to the list of "violent” felonies, as specified; and added the crimes of human trafficking, stalking, solicitation to commit murder, fleeing or attempting to elude a pursuing peace officer, willful flight or attempting to elude a pursuing peace officer, and felon in possession of a firearm, to the list of “serious felonies," as specified. SB 440 failed passage in the Senate Public Safety Committee.
   10. AB 426 (Galgiani), of the 2007-2008 Legislative Session, would have added human trafficking to the list of “serious” and “violent” felonies. AB 426 failed passage in the Senate Public Safety Committee.
       

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Arcadia Police Officers' Association
Brea Police Association
Burbank Police Officers' Association
California Association of School Police Chiefs
California Coalition of School Safety Professionals
California District Attorneys Association
California Family Council
California Narcotic Officers' Association
California Reserve Peace Officers Association
Claremont Police Officers Association
Corona Police Officers Association
Crime Victims United
Culver City Police Officers' Association
Fullerton Police Officers' Association
League of California Cities
Los Angeles School Police Management Association
Los Angeles School Police Officers Association
Murrieta Police Officers' Association
Newport Beach Police Association
Orange County Sheriff's Department
Palos Verdes Police Officers Association
Placer County Deputy Sheriffs' Assocation
Pomona Police Officers' Association
Riverside County Sheriff's Office
Riverside Police Officers Association
Riverside Sheriffs' Association
San Diego County District Attorney's Office
San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins

Opposition

ACLU California Action
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
California Public Defenders Association
Californians United for a Responsible Budget
Drug Policy Alliance 1
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
Friends Committee on Legislation of California
Initiate Justice
Justice2jobs Coalition
LA Defensa
Local 148 LA County Public Defenders Union
San Francisco Public Defender
Sister Warriors Freedom Coalition
Smart Justice California, a Project of Beyond Impact

Analysis Prepared by:

1. https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/fentanyl-driving-overdoses (Mar. 18, 2024) [as of Mar. 5, 2026].) ↑

2. https://www.cdc.gov/stop-overdose/caring/fentanyl-facts.html (Apr. 2, 2024) [as of Mar. 5, 2026]. ↑

3. https://www.yalemedicine.org/news/fentanyl-driving-overdoses (Mar. 18, 2024) [as of Mar. 5, 2026]. ↑

4. https://www.cdcr.ca.gov/proposition57/ [as of Mar. 5, 2026]. ↑

5. https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2018/03/more-imprisonment-does-not-reduce-state-drug-problems; see also https://www.ccjrc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Correctional_and_Sentencing_Reform_for_Drug_Offenders.pdf ↑

6. https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/five-things-about-deterrence ↑

7. Cmte. On Causes and Consequence of High Rates of Incarceration, National Research Council, The Growth of Incarceration in the United States: Exploring Causes and Consequences (2014) p. 146. <https://nap.nationalacademies.org/catalog/18613/the-growth-of-incarceration-in-the-united-states-exploring-causes> [last visited Mar. 5, 2026].) ↑

8. Long Sentences Task Force, Council on Criminal Justice, The Impact of Long Sentences on Public Safety: A Complex Relationship (Nov. 2022) p. 8 https://counciloncj.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Impact-of-Long-Sentences-on-Public-Safety.pdf [last visited Mar. 5, 2026] [internal citations omitted] [emphasis added]. ↑

9. PEW, supra. ↑

10. Ibid. ↑

11. SB 432 (Seyarto), of the 2025-2026 Legislative Session, was substantially similar to this bill. SB 432 was held in suspense in the Senate Appropriations Committee. ↑

12. Proposition 36, approved by California voters on November 6, 2012. ↑

13. SB 14 (Grove), Chapter 230, Statutes of 2023, which added sex trafficking of a minor to the list of serious felonies. ↑