State legislators are considering a bill that would allow public businesses, like restaurants, summer camps and trampoline parks, to stock epinephrine auto injectors in the event that an adult or child has an allergic reaction.
The bill has already passed through the Public Health Committee but has not come up for a vote yet on the Senate floor.
State Senator Matt Lesser had an allergic reaction last year in the State Capitol and said he is hopeful the bill will pass.
“I went through a life-threatening anaphylactic allergic reaction and almost lost my life. Thankfully, the Capitol Police were able to contact an ambulance and I was transported to a hospital in time,” Lesser said. “One of the things I discovered afterwards was in workplaces, including this one, workplaces across the state are not allowed to stock EpiPens and other epinephrine devices the way they are in other states.”
State Representative Robin Comey has been a long-time advocate after watching her 12-year-old son suffer from food allergies and crafted the legislation.
“Their throat closes up and they can’t breathe. When you can’t breathe it’s extremely scary, you have a sense of doom and you panic,” she said.
Comey said she taught her son how to use an epinephrine auto injector at just 5 years old.
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“Can a kid administer epinephrine on themselves? You hope that they will. But it’s also great to have people nearby that are aware of it,” Comey said.
The bill would also ensure that if someone had to administer the epinephrine auto injector and something happened, that person could not be held liable.
