Sen. Pat Bates (R-Laguna Niguel) has introduced a measure in the California Legislature to create a task force in Southern California to combat the region’s growing problem with the deadly opioid fentanyl. Senate Bill 75 (SB 75), a bipartisan measure, would form a task force under the auspices of the California attorney general to coordinate law enforcement efforts and assist local agencies in their work to reduce reduce fentanyl-related deaths. “As a former social worker who once worked in communities ravaged by drugs, California must do more to save people from fentanyl-related tragedies,” Bates said in a Dec. 21 press release. “A task force would help maximize existing resources and improve communication among various agencies.” Bates authored the bill with Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes, Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris (D-Laguna Beach), Assembly Republican Leader Marie Waldron (R-Escondido), and Senator Melissa Melendez (R-Lake Elsinore). Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that’s 50 to …