METH DEBATE REDUCED TO THE SPEAKER VS. THE 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 patrol
officer who pushed tough new limits on the sale of pseudoephedrine - a
common cold remedy used to make the illegal meth - through the House
committee he chairs.

The Speaker is Speaker of the House 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.

On Tuesday, 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 also would have to show identification and sign a logbook.

Pseudoephedrine doubles as the main ingredient in meth. Baudler and his
allies contend that 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.

"Quite frankly, we're talking about a runny nose versus 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 the tougher House bill would remove
scores of common cold remedies from retail shelves.

Baudler said he is interested in building a consensus and might be willing
to consider the exceptions favored by Rants. But in exchange, he 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 is 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.