The state of Wyoming gained a new weapon in its fight against drug overdose deaths this year when Governor Mark Gordon signed the Immunity for Drug Overdose Reporting bill into law. Officially known as Senate File 0074, the legislation offers critical legal protections to individuals seeking emergency assistance for someone experiencing an overdose–even if the caller is also using substances.
Under the law, a person can make up to two emergency calls per calendar year without facing legal repercussions, providing legal immunity for a caller who in good faith seeks medical assistance for themselves or another person if they believe that person is experiencing an overdose, provides a description of the location and remains on the scene until a law enforcement officer or emergency medical service responder arrives.
The bill was informed by subject matter expert Hailey Hayden, a public health analyst (PHA) based in Wyoming as part of the national Overdose Response Strategy (ORS) program, supported by the CDC Foundation. Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the White House Office of National Drug Control and Policy (ONDCP), the ORS was created to help local communities reduce drug overdoses by creating teams of drug intelligence officers (DIO) and public health analysts who work together on drug overdose issues in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. As the PHA for Wyoming, Hayden learned of the need for a law that would protect those seeking help in cases of drug overdoses.
Until Senate File 0074 passed in 2025, Wyoming was the last state in the United States without a law on immunity for overdose reporting.
Lawmakers in Wyoming were informed about the need for the bill and the bill's contents by a group formed by Hailey Hayden, the CDC Foundation's Wyoming Public Health Analyst.
“I’d heard of other PHAs discussing these ‘good Samaritan’ laws in their states,” Hayden said. “I knew we had good Samaritan laws for medical cases–like if someone is having a heart attack–but I didn’t think we had one for drug cases. So I thought, let me look more into this.” During Wyoming's legislative interim year, Hayden formed a working group to host discussions on evidence-based strategies, outline the law’s objectives and identify educational resources to inform legislators.
“We had a couple of public health related people,” Hayden said. “Someone who runs our naloxone program for the state got involved, and then we invited law enforcement and those from our medical response unit.”
Drawing on their collective experience and expertise, the group crafted one pagers and other resources to help inform lawmakers of the need for the bill, and the role it would play in reducing overdose-related deaths by protecting those who might be afraid to call for help during an overdose for fear of legal repercussions. Progress was at times slow. Once it came to the floor, the bill took two passes through the Senate, as lawmakers debated details of the bill and the scope of immunity.
Wyoming PHA Hailey Hayden was presented with the Governor's coin for her work in helping to pass this important bill.
The CDC Foundation’s Wyoming PHA Hailey Hayden and Wyoming DIO Casey Patterson in front of the Wyoming capitol building.
“It was brought up a lot, with some people saying, “They are going to use this bill to do this or that or supply drugs to people,” Hayden said. “But that’s not the case at all. Those who distribute don’t fall under the protection of this law, so we helped provide information on what this law would look like.”
In March 2025, the Immunity for Drug Overdose Reporting Bill was signed into law, making Wyoming the last state in the United States to put overdose reporting immunity into law. For Hayden and other public health and public safety officers who informed the legislation, the win was both a professional and personal victory that will save lives in Wyoming.
“It’s something that makes me happy, because I know we are making the community better,” Hayden said. “It was hard, but we did it. We were part of the change.”
