Drive under the influence of prescription drugs or go to a hospital with a prescription overdose and you might be reported to your doctor under bills advanced Tuesday.
Lawmakers pushing the proposal are trying to reduce prescription drug misuse, which has been blamed for killing about 1,400 Utahns between 2004 and 2008.
HB35 would require a hospital that treats someone who has overdosed on prescription drugs to notify the state agency regulating health professionals. It passed the House 67-3 and now moves to the Senate.
HB28 would require anyone who prescribes controlled substances -- with the exception of veterinarians -- to register with the state Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing and take a tutorial and test to use its database. The bill passed the House 66-3.
HB36, which would mandate state and municipal courts to notify DOPL when someone is convicted of a DUI with prescription drugs, has yet to be debated.
Rep. Brad Daw, R-Orem, is sponsoring the bills.
"We're not penalizing anybody," Daw said at a Capitol news conference. "We're just informing the doctor there may be an issue here."
Rick Schwermer, assistant state court administrator for Utah, said the courts bill is "well-intentioned" but was unsure how much data it would generate. Few DUI cases involve prescription drugs, he said, and it's unusual for a judge or court staff to know which cases do or which doctor prescribed them.
"If we have to start inquiring this in every instance, that's what takes a lot of judge and clerk time and that's when it gets expensive," Schwermer said.
One of the bill's supporters is Democratic Rep. Trisha Beck, whose 25-year-old nephew, Denver Snarr, died of a prescription drug overdose in 2007. Snarr, the son of Murray Mayor Dan Snarr, began taking painkillers after being hurt in an accident and became addicted, his family has said.
"At the time of Denver's passing," Beck said Tuesday, "we as a family vowed we would take our pain and do everything we can so another family does not have to feel this."
Cathy McKitrick contributed to this report.
