I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9660 

To provide protections from prosecution for drug possession to individuals 

who seek medical assistance when witnessing or experiencing an overdose, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 18, 2024 

Mr. NEGUSE (for himself, Mr. BACON, Ms. DEAN of Pennsylvania, Mrs. MILLER of West Virginia, Mr. LEVIN, and Ms. TENNEY) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, and 

in addition to the Committee on Energy and Commerce, for a period to 

be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To provide protections from prosecution for drug possession 

to individuals who seek medical assistance when witnessing or experiencing an overdose, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Samaritan Efforts to 

5 Ensure Key Health Emergency and Life-saving Protec6 tions Act’’ or the ‘‘SEEK HELP Act’’. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
2 

•HR 9660 IH

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act— 

3 (1) the term ‘‘controlled substance’’ has the 

4 meaning given that term in section 102 of the Con5 trolled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802); 

6 (2) the term ‘‘emergency response providers’’ 

7 has the meaning given that term in section 2 of the 

8 Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101); 

9 (3) the term ‘‘opioid overdose reversal drug’’ 

10 means a drug approved under section 505 of the 

11 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 

12 355) that— 

13 (A) is indicated for the partial or complete 

14 reversal of the pharmacological effects of an 

15 opioid overdose in the human body; and 

16 (B) has moved in or affecting interstate or 

17 foreign commerce; 

18 (4) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

19 of Health and Human Services; and 

20 (5) the term ‘‘seek medical assistance’’ 

21 means— 

22 (A) reporting a drug overdose or other 

23 medical emergency to a law enforcement au24 thority, an emergency response provider, the 9– 

25 1–1 system, a poison control center, or a med26 ical or drug treatment provider; or 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
3 

•HR 9660 IH

1 (B) assisting another individual who is 

2 making a report described in subparagraph (A). 

3 SEC. 3. GOOD SAMARITAN PROTECTIONS FOR DRUG OVER4 DOSE RESPONSES. 

5 (a) CIVIL LIABILITY PROTECTIONS FOR ADMINIS6 TRATION OF OPIOID OVERDOSE REVERSAL DRUGS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para8 graph (2), an individual shall not be liable in a civil 

9 action in a Federal or State court for harm caused 

10 by the emergency administration of an opioid over11 dose reversal drug to another individual who is or 

12 reasonably appears to be suffering a drug overdose 

13 if the individual administers the opioid overdose re14 versal drug in good faith. 

15 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) shall not 

16 apply with respect to harm caused by willful or 

17 criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reckless mis18 conduct, or a conscious, flagrant indifference to the 

19 rights or safety of the victim who was harmed. 

20 (3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—With respect to 

21 a person who administers an opioid overdose reversal 

22 drug to another individual, this section supersedes 

23 the law of a State only to the extent that the State 

24 has no statute or regulation that provides such a 

25 person with immunity in a civil action for the use of 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
4 

•HR 9660 IH

1 an opioid overdose reversal drug, as described in 

2 paragraph (1). 

3 (b) CRIMINAL LIABILITY PROTECTIONS FOR SEEK4 ING MEDICAL ASSISTANCE FOR AN OVERDOSE.— 

5 (1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 

6 ‘‘covered individual’’ means an individual who— 

7 (A) in good faith and a timely manner— 

8 (i) seeks medical assistance for an in9 dividual experiencing or reasonably ap10 pears to be experiencing a drug overdose; 

11 or 

12 (ii) seeks medical assistance for him13 self or herself for a drug overdose; and 

14 (B) did not seek the medical assistance 

15 during the course of the execution of an arrest 

16 warrant, search warrant, or other lawful search 

17 or seizure. 

18 (2) LIABILITY PROTECTION.—A covered indi19 vidual shall not be subject to prosecution, civil asset 

20 forfeiture, or revocation of supervised released under 

21 section 404 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 

22 U.S.C. 844) for possession of a controlled substance 

23 if a law enforcement agency, or other government 

24 agency, is made aware of the possession solely based 

25 on the fact that the covered individual sought medVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Sep 30, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9660.IH H9660

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
5 

•HR 9660 IH

1 ical assistance as described in clause (i) or (ii) of 

2 paragraph (1)(A). 

3 (3) ADMISSIBILITY AND SEIZURE OF EVIDENCE

4 OR CONTRABAND.—Nothing in this subsection shall 

5 be construed— 

6 (A) to limit the admissibility of evidence in 

7 connection with the prosecution of— 

8 (i) an offense with regard to an indi9 vidual who does not qualify for the protec10 tions under paragraph (2); or 

11 (ii) an offense not described in para12 graph (2) that is committed by an indi13 vidual who qualifies for the protections 

14 under such paragraph; 

15 (B) to limit any seizure of evidence or con16 traband otherwise permitted by law; or 

17 (C) to limit the arrest of the individual or 

18 search and seizure of any evidence or contra19 band if there is an outstanding State or Federal 

20 warrant for the individual. 

21 (c) PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN.—The Secretary, 

22 in consultation with the Administrator of the Drug En23 forcement Administration, shall carry out a public aware24 ness campaign regarding the liability protections under 

25 this section. 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
6 

•HR 9660 IH

1 (d) USE OF JAG FUNDS.—Section 501(a)(1) of title 

2 I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 

3 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10152(a)(1)) is amended by adding at 

4 the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(J) Training programs for law enforce6 ment officers of States and units of local gov7 ernment regarding legal protections for individ8 uals seeking medical assistance in connection 

9 with a controlled substance overdose.’’. 

10 SEC. 4. USE OF BLOCK GRANT FUNDING FOR PUBLIC 

11 AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS AND INITIATIVES. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—A State receiving a grant under 

13 section 1921 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 

14 300x–21) may use amounts described in section 

15 1922(a)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 300x–22(a)(1)) to— 

16 (1) conduct a public awareness campaign re17 garding the overdose Good Samaritan law of the 

18 State; 

19 (2) provide training to criminal justice profes20 sionals, stakeholders (including health care pro21 viders), emergency medical service providers, and the 

22 general public on applicable overdose Good Samari23 tan laws; and 

24 (3) to the extent possible, share data with the 

25 Secretary regarding the impact of overdose Good SaVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:42 Sep 30, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H9660.IH H9660

kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
7 

•HR 9660 IH

1 maritan laws of the State on individuals experi2 encing an overdose, which shall include the number 

3 of calls seeking medical assistance that were received 

4 by a law enforcement agency, the 9–1–1 system, a 

5 poison control center, or a medical or drug treat6 ment providers for seeking medical assistance in the 

7 event of a drug overdose. 

8 (b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘overdose 

9 Good Samaritan law’’ means a statute providing protec10 tion from liability relating to seeking medical assistance 

11 in connection with a controlled substance overdose or ad12 ministering an opioid overdose reversal drug. 

13 SEC. 5. GAO REPORT TO STUDY EFFECTIVENESS AND IM14 PLEMENTATION. 

15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 

16 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

17 of the United States shall submit to the Committee on 

18 the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Ju19 diciary of the House of Representatives a report on evalu20 ating the implementation of Good Samaritan laws for drug 

21 overdose and the effectiveness of grant funding provided 

22 to States and localities for awareness campaigns related 

23 to those laws. 

24 (b) CONTENTS.—The report required under sub25 section (a) shall— 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
8 

•HR 9660 IH

1 (1) assess the extent to which States and local2 ities have implemented and enforced Good Samari3 tan laws for drug overdose; 

4 (2) evaluate the effectiveness of the laws de5 scribed in paragraph (1) in encouraging the report6 ing of overdoses and the provision of timely medical 

7 assistance; 

8 (3) an estimate of the number of individuals 

9 impacted by the laws described in paragraph (1), in10 cluding the number of individuals who have received 

11 legal protections or immunities under such laws; 

12 (4) analyze the impact of the laws described in 

13 paragraph (1), including— 

14 (A) an assessment of changes in overdose15 related fatalities, emergency department visits, 

16 and the use of naloxone or other overdose rever17 sal interventions; and 

18 (B) data on the number of calls received 

19 for overdoses before and after the implementa20 tion of such laws; 

21 (5) evaluate the effectiveness of grant funding 

22 provided to States and localities for the purpose of 

23 spreading awareness about the laws described in 

24 paragraph (1); 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
9 

•HR 9660 IH

1 (6) assess the reach and impact of educational 

2 campaigns, community outreach initiatives, and 

3 training programs aimed at informing the public, 

4 healthcare providers, law enforcement personnel, and 

5 other relevant stakeholders about the protections 

6 and benefits provided by the laws described in para7 graph (1); 

8 (7) identify any barriers or challenges encoun9 tered during the implementation of the laws de10 scribed in paragraph (1) and associated awareness 

11 campaigns, including— 

12 (A) examining the legal, logistical, re13 source-related, or cultural factors that may im14 pede successful adoption and utilization of the 

15 laws; and 

16 (B) exploring any challenges faced by indi17 viduals seeking help or reporting overdoses due 

18 to potential legal repercussions; 

19 (8) highlight any best practices identified in 

20 States and localities that have effectively imple21 mented the laws described in paragraph (1) and con22 ducted successful awareness campaigns, including 

23 recommendations on best methods for assessing and 

24 evaluating the implementation and success for Good 

25 Samaritan laws; 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB
10 

•HR 9660 IH

1 (9) provide recommendations for improving the 

2 implementation and impact of the laws described in 

3 paragraph (1) and optimizing the use of grant fund4 ing for education and outreach efforts; and 

5 (10) if multiple States or localities have imple6 mented different variations of the laws described in 

7 paragraph (1), include a comparative analysis of 

8 their respective approaches identifying variations in 

9 outcomes, effectiveness, or challenges faced and pro10 viding insights for potential improvements or stand11 ardization of the laws. 

12 (c) COOPERATION AND ACCESS.—Federal agencies 

13 and relevant State and local authorities shall cooperate 

14 with the Comptroller General of the United States and 

15 provide access to necessary information and data to facili16 tate the completion of the report required under sub17 section (a). 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK7ZCZBW3PROD with $$_JOB