Andrea Reeb, District 64 New Mexico State Representative, said that House Bill 107, which aimed to hold fentanyl traffickers accountable, was voted down by Democrats on the Consumer and Public Affairs Committee. The statement was made in a press release on February 10.
"There is no doubt—fentanyl has a grip on our state, and it is costing us dearly. This weekend, we had the opportunity to hold the purveyors of this deadly crisis accountable," said Reeb, District 64 NM State Representative. "Yet, against the will of community leaders, law enforcement officers, and New Mexicans across the state, Democrats refused to act. This is not the end of our mission to make New Mexico a safer place for all. House Republicans will continue putting forward proposals to protect our neighborhoods,"
House Bill 107, introduced by Representatives Andrea Reeb and Luis M. Terrazas, proposed imposing a nine-year prison sentence for first-offense fentanyl trafficking not resulting in death and a 12-year sentence if an overdose death occurred, with additional penalties for subsequent offenses. According to the New Mexico Legislature, the bill was tabled by the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee on February 8.
USA Facts reports that in 2022, New Mexico reported 1,024 drug overdose deaths, equating to a rate of 49 deaths per 100,000 residents—the state's second-highest rate since 1999. This figure is approximately 54% higher than the national average. Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids were involved in 63% of these fatalities, with the overdose death rate associated with fentanyl increasing more than twentyfold between 1999 and 2022.
According to her website, Representative Reeb is an American attorney and politician serving as a Republican member of the New Mexico House of Representatives for District 64, encompassing Chaves, Curry, and Roosevelt counties. Born in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and raised in Clovis, New Mexico, she graduated from Clovis High School in 1989. Reeb earned both her Bachelor of Arts and Juris Doctor degrees from Creighton University.
