Meth Contamination Bill Stalls in Legislature

By Gordon HopkinsA bill intended to address methamphetamine contamination will not make it out of the legislature this year. That is according to Mark Schoenrock, Chairman of the Jefferson County Board of Commissioners, who has been a strong supporter of the bill and testified in front of the legislature on behalf of the bill in February of this year.LB (Legislative Bill) 756, introduced by Nebraska Senator Tom Brandt, District 32, would change provisions in current law relating to properties contaminated by methamphetamine.“We're not going to get it out of committee,” Schoenrock told FJN. “Yeah, we got too much headwind. I mean, political considerations, short session, they're trying to do all these big budget things.”Senator Brandt also spoke in front of the Nebraska Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee to testify in support of LB 756, as did Jefferson County Attorney Joseph Casson and Peggy Galloway, Director of Diversion Services.Brandt explained his reasons for the bill, “The main issue we are trying to address with LB 756 is residences where methamphetamine was used and has contaminated the property and how these residences are being rented or sold before they are properly cleaned of the meth contamination. LB 756 would eliminate the term 'clandestine drug lab' from statute and replace it with the broader language of 'contaminated property.' This change was made because clandestine drug lab is an archaic term. The reality is that these days it is neither clandestine nor a lab, as meth can be manufactured in normal residences, such as in a bathtub or kitchen sink for example, or it is being obtained and used in the residence. The new language of contaminated property gives law enforcement and public health authorities more leeway in applying enforcement of drug laws and clarifies the definition of contaminated property to specify a portion of the property was previously used to manufacture meth.”No one spoke in opposition to the bill at the hearing. Senator Brandt's office later contacted FJN to say that there were no opposition letters as a part of the official file.Despite the bill not moving forward at this time, commissioner Schoenrock remains optimistic that the bill will eventually become law, “So we're going to have to reintroduce it in January. So that's where we're at. Okay. No, we made a good impression on the Health and Human Services Committee.”Schoenrock added, “We're going to hit it again.”Fairbury Mayor Spencer Brown has also expressed regret that the bill will not go through, “LB756 is a critical bill, not only for Fairbury, but any small town where meth is a problem. We need to hold landlords accountable to provide safe, quality and clean housing for families. Pairing LB756 along with other redevelopment projects within Fairbury are critical to its image and success going forward.”On Tuesday, April 5, county commissioners met with representatives from the City of Fairbury to discuss ongoing efforts tear down substandard and dilapidated housing. Schoenrock said, “They are talking about cleaning up blighted houses in the city. This is like a sister effort to that. If we can dry up the methamphetamine contaminated houses that's going to go a long way toward other societal problems.”

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