II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4112 

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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 11 (legislative day, APRIL 10), 2024 

Mr. BOOKER (for himself, Mr. KENNEDY, Mr. MARKEY, and Mrs. CAPITO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

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’’. 

7 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

8 In this Act— 


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

2 meaning given that term in section 102 of the Con3 trolled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802); 

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

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

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

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

8 means a drug approved under section 505 of the 

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

10 355) that— 

11 (A) is indicated for the partial or complete 

12 reversal of the pharmacological effects of an 

13 opioid overdose in the human body; and 

14 (B) has moved in or affecting interstate or 

15 foreign commerce; 

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

17 of Health and Human Services; and 

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

19 means— 

20 (A) reporting a drug overdose or other 

21 medical emergency to a law enforcement au22 thority, an emergency response provider, the 9– 

23 1–1 system, a poison control center, or a med24 ical or drug treatment provider; or 


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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 


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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 19:16 Apr 22, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4112.IS S4112

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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; or 

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

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

18 in consultation with the Administrator of the Drug En19 forcement Administration, shall carry out a public aware20 ness campaign regarding the liability protections under 

21 this section. 

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

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

24 1968 (34 U.S.C. 10152(a)(1)) is amended by adding at 

25 the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(J) Training programs for law enforce2 ment officers of States and units of local gov3 ernment regarding legal protections for individ4 uals seeking medical assistance in connection 

5 with a controlled substance overdose.’’. 

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

7 AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS AND INITIATIVES. 

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

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

10 300x–21) may use amounts described in section 

11 1922(a)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 300x–22(a)(1)) to— 

12 (1) conduct a public awareness campaign re13 garding the overdose Good Samaritan law of the 

14 State; 

15 (2) provide training to criminal justice profes16 sionals, stakeholders (including health care pro17 viders), and the general public on applicable over18 dose Good Samaritan laws; and 

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

20 Secretary regarding the impact of overdose Good Sa21 maritan laws of the State on individuals experi22 encing an overdose, which shall include the number 

23 of calls seeking medical assistance that were received 

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

25 poison control center, or a medical or drug treatVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:16 Apr 22, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4112.IS S4112

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1 ment providers for seeking medical assistance in the 

2 event of a drug overdose. 

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

4 Good Samaritan law’’ means a statute providing protec5 tion from liability relating to seeking medical assistance 

6 in connection with a controlled substance overdose or ad7 ministering an opioid overdose reversal drug. 

8 SEC. 5. GAO REPORT TO STUDY EFFECTIVENESS AND IM9 PLEMENTATION. 

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

11 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

12 of the United States shall submit to the Committee on 

13 the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Ju14 diciary of the House of Representatives a report on evalu15 ating the implementation of Good Samaritan laws for drug 

16 overdose and the effectiveness of grant funding provided 

17 to States and localities for awareness campaigns related 

18 to those laws. 

19 (b) CONTENTS.—The report required under sub20 section (a) shall— 

21 (1) assess the extent to which States and local22 ities have implemented and enforced Good Samari23 tan laws for drug overdose; 

24 (2) evaluate the effectiveness of the laws de25 scribed in paragraph (1) in encouraging the reportVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:16 Apr 22, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4112.IS S4112

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1 ing of overdoses and the provision of timely medical 

2 assistance; 

3 (3) an estimate of the number of individuals 

4 impacted by the laws described in paragraph (1), in5 cluding the number of individuals who have received 

6 legal protections or immunities under such laws; 

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

8 paragraph (1), including— 

9 (A) an assessment of changes in overdose10 related fatalities, emergency department visits, 

11 and the use of naloxone or other overdose rever12 sal interventions; and 

13 (B) data on the number of calls received 

14 for overdoses before and after the implementa15 tion of such laws; 

16 (5) evaluate the effectiveness of grant funding 

17 provided to States and localities for the purpose of 

18 spreading awareness about the laws described in 

19 paragraph (1); 

20 (6) assess the reach and impact of educational 

21 campaigns, community outreach initiatives, and 

22 training programs aimed at informing the public, 

23 healthcare providers, law enforcement personnel, and 

24 other relevant stakeholders about the protections 


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1 and benefits provided by the laws described in para2 graph (1); 

3 (7) identify any barriers or challenges encoun4 tered during the implementation of the laws de5 scribed in paragraph (1) and associated awareness 

6 campaigns, including— 

7 (A) examining the legal, logistical, re8 source-related, or cultural factors that may im9 pede successful adoption and utilization of the 

10 laws; and 

11 (B) exploring any challenges faced by indi12 viduals seeking help or reporting overdoses due 

13 to potential legal repercussions; 

14 (8) highlight any best practices identified in 

15 States and localities that have effectively imple16 mented the laws described in paragraph (1) and con17 ducted successful awareness campaigns; 

18 (9) provide recommendations for improving the 

19 implementation and impact of the laws described in 

20 paragraph (1) and optimizing the use of grant fund21 ing for education and outreach efforts; and 

22 (10) if multiple States or localities have imple23 mented different variations of the laws described in 

24 paragraph (1), include a comparative analysis of 

25 their respective approaches identifying variations in 


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1 outcomes, effectiveness, or challenges faced and pro2 viding insights for potential improvements or stand3 ardization of the laws. 

4 (c) COOPERATION AND ACCESS.—Federal agencies 

5 and relevant State and local authorities shall cooperate 

6 with the Comptroller General of the United States and 

7 provide access to necessary information and data to facili8 tate the completion of the report required under sub9 section (a). 

Æ 


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