COLD-DRUG BILL A PRESCRIPTION FOR HEADWAY

SALEM -- At times, this week's debate on the House floor over a big
methamphetamine bill sounded like a self-help seminar for
underachieving legislators.

Rep. Bill Garrard, R-Klamath Falls, said lawmakers for once had a
chance to rise above the daily Capitol news clippings that report
"how ineffective we are."

Rep. Bob Jenson, R-Pendleton, told an uplifting story from President
Kennedy's famous book, "Profiles in Courage." Rep. Deborah Boone,
D-Cannon Beach, exulted to a reporter, "We're actually doing something!"

It wasn't as if legislators decided to damn the political
consequences and fix PERS, solve school funding or rewrite the tax code.

But the House did do something that has been a rare sight in the
Capitol this year. The legislators acted in a bipartisan fashion on a
tough issue, bulldozed over the objections of powerful lobbies and
voted for a bill that will undoubtedly irk many voters.

And there are some lessons in how they did it that they can apply to
other issues.

The meth bill has received plenty of attention because it is one of
those unusual bills that will actually make life different for
average Oregonians.

The measure, House Bill 2485, would require consumers to get a
prescription to obtain many common cold and allergy medicines that
contain pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient used in the manufacture of
methamphetamine.

Several states, including Oregon, have put such products as Sudafed
and Theraflu behind the counter to try to cut off diversions to local
meth cooks.

But no other state has gone as far as Oregon would under this bill.
Consumers who don't use an alternative to products with
pseudoephedrine would have to go through the expense and hassle of
getting a prescription.

Forcing the change is tough for many legislators, who don't like to
inconvenience voters. Beyond that, the partisan divide in Salem has
given a super-veto to special-interest groups. If they can't stop
something in the Democratic Senate, they usually can in the Republican House.

The meth issue has been different, in large part because of Sen.
Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, and Rep. Wayne Krieger, R-Gold Beach, who
lead the judiciary committees in the two chambers.

Despite their considerable philosophical differences, the two agreed
to work together on meth.

They brought in Sen. Roger Beyer, R-Molalla; Rep. Greg Macpherson,
D-Lake Oswego; and Gov. Ted Kulongoski's crime-policy aide, Craig
Campbell, to sort through the meth bills. That way, every power
center in the Capitol was included.

They checked politics at the door and kept the leadership away.
Krieger said his biggest lesson was that he could develop a
"relationship of trust with a Democrat."

What the work group didn't have was a lot of money. So the lawmakers
looked for relatively cheap ideas that worked, such as expanding drug courts.

Because it didn't cost the state anything, they could be bold about
trying to dry up the supply of pseudoephedrine for meth cooks.

Retailers and pharmaceutical lobbyists fought the prescription
proposal but found that the bipartisan quartet of legislators had
established too much credibility with their colleagues. Few want to
be seen as soft on meth.

The bill is expected to pass the Senate and be signed into law.

Krieger said he and Burdick didn't set out to serve as an example on
how to get something done in a partisan Legislature. "We just grew
into it," he said.

Now, Krieger and Burdick said, they are starting work on their
project for the next Legislature. They want to do a top-to-bottom
review of all the programs and laws aimed at sex offenders who
victimize children.

"Something has to be done differently here," said Krieger. "We've got
to decide we're just going to protect kids. Period."