Two state representatives are hoping to establish a new crime in Connecticut that would allow police to charge drug dealers with homicide by sale of an opioid.

State Rep. Kurt Vail, R-52nd District, and state Rep. Devin R. Carney, R-23rd District, proposed similar bills in the Connecticut General Assembly last week. Both bills were referred to the Joint Committee on Judiciary.

Carney said his bill is comparable to ones proposed in other states, including New York’s “Laree’s Law,” which would make homicide by sale of an opiate controlled substance a class A-1 felony. The bill, he noted, has passed the New York Senate with bipartisan support on multiple occasions. It has not yet passed the Assembly.

Carney said his bill wouldn’t necessarily be identical to Laree’s Law in terms of what level of felony the crime would be or what kind of punishment it could bring. Right now, he’s just hoping it makes it to a public hearing so he and other state representatives can further develop that.

“There are some drug dealers that I think know what they’re doing,” Carney said, referring to the practice of cutting heroin with the much more potent fentanyl.

“It’s killing our kids,” he continued. “So we need to do all we can to stop drug dealers and punish them accordingly.”

Vail, who said he’s aware Carney has proposed a similar bill and has been in contact with him, said he, too, was inspired by the New York bill.

He’s envisioning the creation of a crime that would carry with it a heftier penalty than manslaughter, which prosecutors already can bring in to certain drug overdose death cases in Connecticut.

“I want to see people that are suffering get the help they need,” Vail began, “but I also want to see some type of deterrent to people dealing drugs and taking advantage of addiction.”

New London Chief Public Defender Kevin C. Barrs said while he commends the politicians for trying to help combat the opioid crisis, he would advocate against the creation of a crime with a harsher penalty.

He said it seems to him that Connecticut already has enough laws to encompass drug overdose deaths.

“These cases are hard enough,” Barrs said. “Most of the (accused drug dealers) that come through here are not trying to kill people. They’re not kind and caring, necessarily, but they’re not out to kill.”

Carney said he just wants judges and prosecutors to have “another tool in the toolbox” they could apply to certain situations — one that might make drug dealers think twice before they sell.

Carney, who said he has watched a family member struggle with addiction in the past, also has proposed a bill that would expand access to substance abuse treatment programs.

Right now, he said, many treatment programs limit admission to those who have undergone detoxification. In turn, some detoxification programs only admit people who currently are under the influence of alcohol or drugs — something Carney called “ridiculous.”

His bill would amend the public health general statutes to prohibit facilities from mandating residents be under the influence for admission.

“When addicts want to get help ... it could be a very small window,” Carney said. “When that happens, we have to take advantage.”

One other opioid-related bill that’s been proposed would make heroin possession a felony again. It was just more than a year ago, in October 2015, that Connecticut made first-time possession of small amounts of drugs including heroin a misdemeanor rather than a felony.

State Rep. Carol Hall, R-59th District, could not be reached to comment on why she proposed the bill.

l.boyle@theday.com