DES MOINES, Iowa (KCAU) — Governor Kim Reynolds was busy signing bills Tuesday that were passed by the legislature including one about new fentanyl penalties.

The governor traveled to Atlantic signing house file 595 into law. The bill aims to increase penalties for illegally manufacturing, delivering, or possessing controlled substances containing fentanyl. Some sentences could see their punishments doubled or even tripled.

Reynolds also signed Senate File 513 which focused on the motor vehicle enforcement duties of the Departments of Public Safety and Transportation.

Reynolds isn’t the only politician looking to crack down on the fentanyl crisis. U.S. Senator Joni Ernst unveiled a new plan to combat the fentanyl crisis. Tuesday she announced new bipartisan legislation the ‘Disrupt Fentanyl Trafficking Act’ which would classify fentanyl as a national security threat to the country. It would encourage the military to more actively support counter-fentanyl efforts and have the Pentagon create a fentanyl-specific counter-drug strategy. Ernst blamed the southern border as contributing to the current crisis.

“A folks what’s happening in our backyards can’t be ignored the culprit is clear as the Mexican transnational criminal organization have used the unsecured Mexican border as an open highway. 90 percent of fentanyl traffic to our homeland flows through our southern border. With the end of title 42 this will only get worse ” Ernst said.

Ernst said drug overdose deaths in Iowans under 25 have increased over 120 percent in the last five years.