METH BILL PASSES

The Texas House of Representatives unanimously approved state Rep. Leo
Berman's omnibus methamphetamine bill on Thursday. Berman's HB 164 will now
be reconciled with a similar bill passed by the Senate on Wednesday.

"I am very pleased with the vote," Berman said late Thursday. "This should
help eliminate this drug from my district and the rest of the state."

The bill would remove ephedrine and pseudoephedrine from store shelves,
making it harder for producers of methamphetamine to make that drug.

The Tyler Republican said it's a far-reaching piece of legislation.

"It's an omnibus bill, meaning it covers everything from meth manufacture
to sale to possession to transportation," said Berman. "It covers children
on the premises of meth labs, and it puts into law the governor's Meth
Watch program."

One provision would regulate two cold and allergy medications, ephedrine
and its more common isomer, pseudoephedrine.

All non-liquid products containing ephedrine or pseudoephedrine will be
removed from the shelves that don't have pharmacies. In pharmacies, sales
will be controlled from behind the counter after showing an ID card and
signing for no more than nine grams.

In committee, an amendment was added to the bill allowing for careful sale
of such cold medicines from stores without pharmacies, in areas of the
state with few pharmacies.

The bill also imposes fines for the environmental cleanup of lab sites, and
adds penalties if children are present at the site where the drug is made.

The bill will now move to conference committee, along with its Senate
counterpart. The Senate bill is not quite as far-reaching, Berman noted,
but he's confident the two can be reconciled.