SENATE MEASURE AIMED AT ILLEGAL METH LABS

Ammonia, Sinus Medicine Sales Limited

BATON ROUGE -- Legislation aimed at cracking down on illegal
methamphetamine manufacturing labs by making it harder to obtain
over-the-counter sinus medication and ammonia, two of the main ingredients
used in making the drug, was filed Tuesday by Sen. James David Cain, R-Dry
Creek.

Cain's Senate Bill 24 would prohibit retail stores and pharmacies from
selling or displaying more than three packages, or 9 grams, of
over-the-counter medicines containing ephedrine, pseudoephedrine or
phenylpropanolamine, the main components in sinus medication and some cold
medicines.

The bill allows the sale of the drugs if prescribed by a doctor. The bill
also says that if someone buys medications with ephedrine compounds in
them, the purchaser must produce a photo identification with proof of age,
and sign a receipt indicating the date of the purchase and how much was bought.

The bill also prohibits the sale of more than 9 grams every 30 days, unless
a doctor prescribes otherwise.

Cain's bill gives the state Department of Health and Hospitals the
authority to draft regulations exempting substances from the proposal if
they cannot be used in the illegal manufacturing of methamphetamines or
other illegal drugs.

Violators could face up to two years in jail, up to a $2,000 fine or both
if convicted. If a retailer has more displays or sells more than three
packages of the substances to the same person without a prescription, he or
she could be fined up to $500 for a first offense and up to $1,000 for
subsequent violations.

The bill also creates the crime of unauthorized possession of anhydrous
ammonia, a volatile substance used legitimately by farmers and often stolen
by meth lab operators.

Cain's bill would require the dealers of ammonia to inspect their
customers' tanks and label them as legal for one year. If a person is found
in possession of an unlabeled tank or is caught using the ammonia for
making drugs, the individual could be charged with illegal possession of
the substance and face up to a $2,000 fine, a maximum two years in jail or
both.

About a dozen states have passed similar laws.

So far, 89 bills have been filed for the legislative session that begins
April 25: 60 in the House and 29 in the Senate.

On a fiscal issue, Sen. Jay Dardenne, R-Baton Rouge, Tuesday filed SB 23
that phases out the gift tax during the next five years and eliminates it
by July 1, 2009.

The tax, which generates between $4 million and $5 million a year for the
state, is now set at 2 percent on the first $15,000 of a gift's value and 3
percent in excess of $15,000.

Meanwhile, Sen. Butch Gautreaux, D-Morgan City, filed SB 22 requiring all
licensed public and private hospitals in the state to issue annual reports
of all incidents of infections contracted by patients who did not have the
problem when they checked in.

Gautreaux's bill would require reporting of infections from surgery,
"ventilator-associated pneumonia," central line-related blood infections
and urinary tract infections.

The hospital-by-hospital report would be made available to the public as
well as lawmakers, state regulators and providers starting in 2007,
covering data collected in 2006. Violation of the law could result in a
fine of $100 per violation per day for each day a violation is not
reported, and possibly loss of a license to operate.

The Louisiana Hospital Association said it will oppose Gautreaux's bill
because hospitals already make public reports on infections contracted in
their facilities to the federal government.

"This bill goes further and deeper" than the federal government now
mandates, said Colette Barrett, vice president of development and member
services with the association. "The hospital association is very concerned
about patient safety. We oppose reporting which is duplicative and
redundant. . . . We would rather spend our efforts and resources on the
front end, to prevent infection."