BILL COULD STIFFEN PENALTY FOR HAVING METH LAB NEAR CHILDREN

Adults who make methamphetamine in the presence of a child -- the case
in half the raids on Minnesota meth labs in recent years -- would face
a new charge of child endangerment under legislation proposed Monday.

State Sen. Satveer Chaudhary, DFL-Fridley, and State Rep. John Lesch,
DFL-St. Paul, said the proposal is part of an effort to protect
children while cracking down on what they said has been a meth
epidemic -- the number of labs discovered soared to 400 last year from
13 in 1995.

"Children out there are at the mercy of meth manufacturers," Lesch
said. "If we don't get this done right away next session, I'm afraid
more of them are going to be hurt by our inability to prosecute this."

Current law allows the state to charge a parent or the child's
caretaker if they make meth while a child is present. The proposed
bill would broaden the offense to make it a gross misdemeanor for any
adult who engaged in that activity, and would allow judges to impose a
consecutive sentence for child endangerment.

"Meth use increases the risk of child abuse, child neglect and
domestic violence," Chaudhary said in a prepared statement. Besides
the threat of death or serious injuries from a chemical explosion,
exposure to toxic substances present at such labs can adversely affect
children's health, studies have shown.

The bill also calls for those convicted of manufacturing meth to pay
the costs of cleaning up the site, which can be heavily contaminated
with hazardous by-products. The average cost of such cleanup is $2,000
to $3,000.

Lesch said he hoped the bill gets a hearing on the House floor. A
similar proposal passed through committee unanimously but never got
voted on in the House. Chaudhary's version of the bill passed the
Senate unanimously in the last session