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. MIL-
LER of West Virginia, Mr. LEVIN, and Ms. TENNEY) introduced the fol-
lowing 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 consider-
ation 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 wit-
nessing or experiencing an overdose, and for other pur-
poses. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Samaritan Efforts to 
Ensure Key Health Emergency and Life-saving Protec-
tions Act’’ or the ‘‘SEEK HELP Act’’. 
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SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act— 
(1) the term ‘‘controlled substance’’ has the 
meaning given that term in section 102 of the Con-
trolled Substances Act (21 U.S.C. 802); 
(2) the term ‘‘emergency response providers’’ 
has the meaning given that term in section 2 of the 
Homeland Security Act of 2002 (6 U.S.C. 101); 
(3) the term ‘‘opioid overdose reversal drug’’ 
means a drug approved under section 505 of the 
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 
355) that— 
(A) is indicated for the partial or complete 
reversal of the pharmacological effects of an 
opioid overdose in the human body; and 
(B) has moved in or affecting interstate or 
foreign commerce; 
(4) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 
of Health and Human Services; and 
(5) 
the 
term 
‘‘seek 
medical 
assistance’’ 
means— 
(A) reporting a drug overdose or other 
medical emergency to a law enforcement au-
thority, an emergency response provider, the 9– 
1–1 system, a poison control center, or a med-
ical or drug treatment provider; or 
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(B) assisting another individual who is 
making a report described in subparagraph (A). 
SEC. 3. GOOD SAMARITAN PROTECTIONS FOR DRUG OVER-
DOSE RESPONSES. 
(a) CIVIL LIABILITY PROTECTIONS FOR ADMINIS-
TRATION OF OPIOID OVERDOSE REVERSAL DRUGS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para-
graph (2), an individual shall not be liable in a civil 
action in a Federal or State court for harm caused 
by the emergency administration of an opioid over-
dose reversal drug to another individual who is or 
reasonably appears to be suffering a drug overdose 
if the individual administers the opioid overdose re-
versal drug in good faith. 
(2) EXCEPTIONS.—Paragraph (1) shall not 
apply with respect to harm caused by willful or 
criminal misconduct, gross negligence, reckless mis-
conduct, or a conscious, flagrant indifference to the 
rights or safety of the victim who was harmed. 
(3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—With respect to 
a person who administers an opioid overdose reversal 
drug to another individual, this section supersedes 
the law of a State only to the extent that the State 
has no statute or regulation that provides such a 
person with immunity in a civil action for the use of 
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an opioid overdose reversal drug, as described in 
paragraph (1). 
(b) CRIMINAL LIABILITY PROTECTIONS FOR SEEK-
ING MEDICAL ASSISTANCE FOR AN OVERDOSE.— 
(1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term 
‘‘covered individual’’ means an individual who— 
(A) in good faith and a timely manner— 
(i) seeks medical assistance for an in-
dividual experiencing or reasonably ap-
pears to be experiencing a drug overdose; 
or 
(ii) seeks medical assistance for him-
self or herself for a drug overdose; and 
(B) did not seek the medical assistance 
during the course of the execution of an arrest 
warrant, search warrant, or other lawful search 
or seizure. 
(2) LIABILITY
PROTECTION.—A covered indi-
vidual shall not be subject to prosecution, civil asset 
forfeiture, or revocation of supervised released under 
section 404 of the Controlled Substances Act (21 
U.S.C. 844) for possession of a controlled substance 
if a law enforcement agency, or other government 
agency, is made aware of the possession solely based 
on the fact that the covered individual sought med-
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ical assistance as described in clause (i) or (ii) of 
paragraph (1)(A). 
(3) ADMISSIBILITY AND SEIZURE OF EVIDENCE 
OR CONTRABAND.—Nothing in this subsection shall 
be construed— 
(A) to limit the admissibility of evidence in 
connection with the prosecution of— 
(i) an offense with regard to an indi-
vidual who does not qualify for the protec-
tions under paragraph (2); or 
(ii) an offense not described in para-
graph (2) that is committed by an indi-
vidual who qualifies for the protections 
under such paragraph; 
(B) to limit any seizure of evidence or con-
traband otherwise permitted by law; or 
(C) to limit the arrest of the individual or 
search and seizure of any evidence or contra-
band if there is an outstanding State or Federal 
warrant for the individual. 
(c) PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN.—The Secretary, 
in consultation with the Administrator of the Drug En-
forcement Administration, shall carry out a public aware-
ness campaign regarding the liability protections under 
this section. 
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(d) USE OF JAG FUNDS.—Section 501(a)(1) of title 
I of the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 
1968 (34 U.S.C. 10152(a)(1)) is amended by adding at 
the end the following: 
‘‘(J) Training programs for law enforce-
ment officers of States and units of local gov-
ernment regarding legal protections for individ-
uals seeking medical assistance in connection 
with a controlled substance overdose.’’. 
SEC. 4. USE OF BLOCK GRANT FUNDING FOR PUBLIC 
AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS AND INITIATIVES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—A State receiving a grant under 
section 1921 of the Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 
300x–21) may use amounts described in section 
1922(a)(1) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 300x–22(a)(1)) to— 
(1) conduct a public awareness campaign re-
garding the overdose Good Samaritan law of the 
State; 
(2) provide training to criminal justice profes-
sionals, stakeholders (including health care pro-
viders), emergency medical service providers, and the 
general public on applicable overdose Good Samari-
tan laws; and 
(3) to the extent possible, share data with the 
Secretary regarding the impact of overdose Good Sa-
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maritan laws of the State on individuals experi-
encing an overdose, which shall include the number 
of calls seeking medical assistance that were received 
by a law enforcement agency, the 9–1–1 system, a 
poison control center, or a medical or drug treat-
ment providers for seeking medical assistance in the 
event of a drug overdose. 
(b) DEFINITION.—In this section, the term ‘‘overdose 
Good Samaritan law’’ means a statute providing protec-
tion from liability relating to seeking medical assistance 
in connection with a controlled substance overdose or ad-
ministering an opioid overdose reversal drug. 
SEC. 5. GAO REPORT TO STUDY EFFECTIVENESS AND IM-
PLEMENTATION. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 
of the United States shall submit to the Committee on 
the Judiciary of the Senate and the Committee on the Ju-
diciary of the House of Representatives a report on evalu-
ating the implementation of Good Samaritan laws for drug 
overdose and the effectiveness of grant funding provided 
to States and localities for awareness campaigns related 
to those laws. 
(b) CONTENTS.—The report required under sub-
section (a) shall— 
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(1) assess the extent to which States and local-
ities have implemented and enforced Good Samari-
tan laws for drug overdose; 
(2) evaluate the effectiveness of the laws de-
scribed in paragraph (1) in encouraging the report-
ing of overdoses and the provision of timely medical 
assistance; 
(3) an estimate of the number of individuals 
impacted by the laws described in paragraph (1), in-
cluding the number of individuals who have received 
legal protections or immunities under such laws; 
(4) analyze the impact of the laws described in 
paragraph (1), including— 
(A) an assessment of changes in overdose- 
related fatalities, emergency department visits, 
and the use of naloxone or other overdose rever-
sal interventions; and 
(B) data on the number of calls received 
for overdoses before and after the implementa-
tion of such laws; 
(5) evaluate the effectiveness of grant funding 
provided to States and localities for the purpose of 
spreading awareness about the laws described in 
paragraph (1); 
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