Bill Text: IL HB4479 | 2023-2024 | 103rd General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Amends the Illinois Controlled Substances Act. Provides that a person who reasonably believes that another person is experiencing an overdose and knowingly fails to seek emergency medical assistance for that person is guilty of a Class 4 felony unless the person experiencing the overdose dies as a result of failing to obtain the emergency medical assistance, in which case the penalty for violating this provision is a Class 1 felony.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-17 - Referred to Rules Committee [HB4479 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2023-HB4479-Introduced.html

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103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY State of Illinois 2023 and 2024 HB4479 Introduced , by Rep. Dan Caulkins SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
720 ILCS 570/414
Amends the Illinois Controlled Substances Act. Provides that a person who reasonably believes that another person is experiencing an overdose and knowingly fails to seek emergency medical assistance for that person is guilty of a Class 4 felony unless the person experiencing the overdose dies as a result of failing to obtain the emergency medical assistance, in which case the penalty for violating this provision is a Class 1 felony.
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A BILL FOR
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AN ACT concerning criminal law.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Controlled Substances Act is
amended by changing Section 414 as follows:
(720 ILCS 570/414)
Sec. 414. Overdose; limited immunity.
(a) For the purposes of this Section, "overdose" means a
controlled substance-induced physiological event that results
in a life-threatening emergency to the individual who
ingested, inhaled, injected or otherwise bodily absorbed a
controlled, counterfeit, or look-alike substance or a
controlled substance analog.
(b) A person who, in good faith, seeks or obtains
emergency medical assistance for someone experiencing an
overdose shall not be arrested, charged, or prosecuted for a
violation of Section 401 or 402 of the Illinois Controlled
Substances Act, Section 3.5 of the Drug Paraphernalia Control
Act, Section 55 or 60 of the Methamphetamine Control and
Community Protection Act, Section 9-3.3 of the Criminal Code
of 2012, or paragraph (1) of subsection (g) of Section 12-3.05
of the Criminal Code of 2012 if evidence for the violation was
acquired as a result of the person seeking or obtaining

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emergency medical assistance and providing the amount of
substance recovered is within the amount identified in
subsection (d) of this Section. The violations listed in this
subsection (b) must not serve as the sole basis of a violation
of parole, mandatory supervised release, probation, or
conditional discharge, a person's pretrial release, or
furlough, or any seizure of property under any State law
authorizing civil forfeiture so long as the evidence for the
violation was acquired as a result of the person seeking or
obtaining emergency medical assistance in the event of an
overdose.
(c) A person who is experiencing an overdose shall not be
arrested, charged, or prosecuted for a violation of Section
401 or 402 of the Illinois Controlled Substances Act, Section
3.5 of the Drug Paraphernalia Control Act, Section 9-3.3 of
the Criminal Code of 2012, or paragraph (1) of subsection (g)
of Section 12-3.05 of the Criminal Code of 2012 if evidence for
the violation was acquired as a result of the person seeking or
obtaining emergency medical assistance and providing the
amount of substance recovered is within the amount identified
in subsection (d) of this Section. The violations listed in
this subsection (c) must not serve as the sole basis of a
violation of parole, mandatory supervised release, probation,
or conditional discharge, or any seizure of property under any
State law authorizing civil forfeiture so long as the evidence
for the violation was acquired as a result of the person

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seeking or obtaining emergency medical assistance in the event
of an overdose.
(d) For the purposes of subsections (b) and (c), the
limited immunity shall only apply to a person possessing the
following amount:
(1) less than 3 grams of a substance containing
heroin;
(2) less than 3 grams of a substance containing
cocaine;
(3) less than 3 grams of a substance containing
morphine;
(4) less than 40 grams of a substance containing
peyote;
(5) less than 40 grams of a substance containing a
derivative of barbituric acid or any of the salts of a
derivative of barbituric acid;
(6) less than 40 grams of a substance containing
amphetamine or any salt of an optical isomer of
amphetamine;
(7) less than 3 grams of a substance containing
lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), or an analog thereof;
(8) less than 6 grams of a substance containing
pentazocine or any of the salts, isomers and salts of
isomers of pentazocine, or an analog thereof;
(9) less than 6 grams of a substance containing
methaqualone or any of the salts, isomers and salts of

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isomers of methaqualone;
(10) less than 6 grams of a substance containing
phencyclidine or any of the salts, isomers and salts of
isomers of phencyclidine (PCP);
(11) less than 6 grams of a substance containing
ketamine or any of the salts, isomers and salts of isomers
of ketamine;
(12) less than 40 grams of a substance containing a
substance classified as a narcotic drug in Schedules I or
II, or an analog thereof, which is not otherwise included
in this subsection.
(e) The limited immunity described in subsections (b) and
(c) of this Section shall not be extended if law enforcement
has reasonable suspicion or probable cause to detain, arrest,
or search the person described in subsection (b) or (c) of this
Section for criminal activity and the reasonable suspicion or
probable cause is based on information obtained prior to or
independent of the individual described in subsection (b) or
(c) taking action to seek or obtain emergency medical
assistance and not obtained as a direct result of the action of
seeking or obtaining emergency medical assistance. Nothing in
this Section is intended to interfere with or prevent the
investigation, arrest, or prosecution of any person for the
delivery or distribution of cannabis, methamphetamine or other
controlled substances, drug-induced homicide, or any other
crime if the evidence of the violation is not acquired as a

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result of the person seeking or obtaining emergency medical
assistance in the event of an overdose.
(f) A person who reasonably believes that another person
is experiencing an overdose and knowingly fails to seek
emergency medical assistance for that person is guilty of a
Class 4 felony unless the person experiencing the overdose
dies as a result of failing to obtain the emergency medical
assistance, in which case the penalty for violating this
subsection (f) is a Class 1 felony.
(Source: P.A. 102-4, eff. 4-27-21; 102-476, eff. 1-1-22.)