LINCOLN- A small group of Nebraska lawmakers launched a filibuster on Wednesday against a bill that would enhance the penalties that alleged drug dealers could face for providing substances linked to overdoses. LB137, a bill sponsored by Sen. Carolyn Bosn, would increase prison sentences for dealers who distribute a drug that kills or seriously injures a drug user.

The Legislature's Judiciary Committee advanced the bill on a 5-2 vote on Tuesday, but faced opposition from Sens. Machaela Cavanaugh, Justin Wayne, Terrell McKinney, and George Dungan during a floor debate on Wednesday. "I don't think that it's going to deter crime," said Cavanaugh, whose comments were echoed by Dungan, a former public defender, "And if we really want to deter crime we need to get to the root causes of crime..."

McKinney and Wayne repeatedly cautioned that Bosn's bill would bring unintended consequences and further strain Nebraska's prison system, which is already plagued by overcrowding. "It's easy to get behind what we could deem tough-on-crime bills," said Wayne, "It's easy to say that there is a drug problem and we have to be harder on drug dealers. I don't disagree with those statements. The problem is this bill is too broad."

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