METH FIGHT PITS SPEAKER VS. TROOPER

DES MOINES -- The fate of a controversial bill intended to shut down
hundreds of methamphetamine labs now rests in the hands of the trooper and
the speaker.

The trooper is Rep. Clel Baudler, R-Greenfield, a retired state trooper who
pushed tough new limits on the sale of pseudoephedrine -- a common cold
remedy used to make meth -- through the House committee he chairs.

The speaker is House Speaker Christopher Rants, R-Sioux City, who argued
Wednesday that Baudler's Public Safety Committee went too far-

And it's not the first time they've found themselves on opposing sides.

"Put it this way, Christopher and I have an old relationship," Baudler
said, smiling. "I stopped him several times on Interstate 80."

The speeding speaker swears it happened only once, maybe twice.

"I remember one time distinctly. He threatened to impound my car," said
Rants, who now has the power to impound any bill awaiting House debate,
including Baudler's.

Tuesday night, the Public Safety Committee voted 13-8 for a bill that would
allow only pharmacies to sell over-the-counter cold, flu and allergy
medications containing pseudoephedrine, a popular nasal decongestant.
Buyers would also have to show ID and sign a logbook.

Pseudoephedrine doubles as the main ingredient in meth. Baudler and his
allies contend sales limits would help stop meth makers from buying or
stealing the large quantities of cold medication they need to cook the
highly addictive drug.

But during a long, sometimes contentious debate, critics insisted that the
bill would be a burden on law-abiding Iowans, especially in small towns
without pharmacies. Lawmakers including Rep. Lance Horbach, R-Tama, said
the bill would be more of an inconvenience for ill Iowans than a deterrent
for meth makers.

Horbach argued that the bill amounts to trying to control mice simply by
moving their cheese. Baudler was not swayed.

"Rep. Horbach, at my house we use traps," Baudler said.

"Quite frankly, we're talking about a runny nose vs. people's lives,"
Baudler said Wednesday. "I don't think that sells."

But Rants contends a trap designed to catch meth makers also ensnares
consumers and business owners. He wants exceptions added to the bill
allowing retailers without a pharmacy to sell cold remedies with smaller
amounts of pseudoephedrine.

A bill previously approved 50-0 by the Senate contained such exceptions.
Rants visited several stores and found that the tougher House bill would
remove scores of common cold remedies from retail shelves.

"It's my hope that we can do what's right. I'm going to see if we can still
salvage some kind of compromise," Rants said. "The public wants something
to be done. But I think a lot of Iowans are unaware how far this
legislation goes."

Baudler said he's interested in building a consensus and might be willing
to consider the exceptions favored by Rants. But in exchange, Baudler wants
tighter rules governing bail and subpoena powers in meth-related criminal
cases.

"If I have to reach a compromise to do this, I'll try," Baudler said. "But
my ultimate goal is to reduce the number of meth labs in Iowa dramatically."

With several weeks remaining in the 2005 session, Baudler and Rants said
there's plenty of time to work out their differences.

"We could literally debate this on the last day of the session. I don't
want to, but there are no time constraints," Rants said.