Bipartisan effort cuts the number of potential pieces of legislation from dozens to just two

SALEM — When the 2005 legislative session got under way in January, the flood of bills introduced to cope with the state’s methamphetamine crisis posed a problem.

"If we had had to deal with 35 to 40 bills, it would have made it very difficult to run them all and come out with a cohesive package," said Rep. Wayne Krieger, R-Gold Beach, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee.

Instead Krieger and Sen. Ginny Burdick, D-Portland, chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, decided to cherry-pick the best features of the bills and incorporate them into just two measures.

Key components are limiting access to precursor substances such as pseudoephedrine tablets used to make meth and stiffer penalties for those who manufacture or deliver meth. The two bills are expected to be available early this week.

To help build support, Krieger and Burdick selected members of the minority caucuses in the House and Senate — Rep. Greg MacPherson, D-Lake Oswego, and Sen. Roger Beyer, R-Molalla — to work with them. Suggestions and comments also were solicited from the Republican and Democratic caucuses of both chambers.

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That groundwork, Krieger believes, has generated widespread support — something that has been sorely lacking on other key issues.

Hearings will begin this week on the two meth proposals, with the House and Senate judiciary panels meeting jointly beginning on Wednesday.

"It was a very smart move," Rep. Peter Buckley, D-Ashland, said of the strategy. "They have come up with something that is comprehensive, yet flexible."

Buckley said he is particularly pleased that the bills include enhanced penalties for people who manufacture or deliver methamphetamines and increased funding for drug courts.

The latter is good news for Jackson County’s Community Family Court, a drug court that is operating on a federal grant due to expire soon, according to Rita Sullivan, executive director of OnTrack, a substance abuse treatment center in Medford.

Sullivan, who also serves on the Jackson County Methamphetamine Task Force, said meth is the No. 1 drug addiction being treated by OnTrack.

"It is the most common reason kids are taken from their homes," she said.

Sullivan has nothing but high praise for the work of the drug court and its integrated program that deals with both the addict and his or her family members.

"Drug court is one of the most collaborative, coordinated family services program in the county," she added. "It has been very effective."

"Getting people into recovery is the best long-term investment we can make," Krieger said. "It’s a value that you cannot measure."

Krieger and Burdick are proof of the old adage that politics make strange bedfellows, metaphorically speaking. Krieger, a former Oregon State Police trooper, is a conservative and ardent defender of the rights of gun owners. Burdick, a former journalist, leans left and is well known for bills to register the sale of guns at gun shows and a bill this session to ban permit holders from taking a concealed weapon into a school.

"It’s been a very good working relationship," said Krieger, "one that is far, far different than most people thought." Burdick echoes those comments. The two usually meet in Krieger’s office, and not even a large metal sculpture there of "Deputy Dawg" with a National Rifle Association badge across his chest phases the Portland liberal anymore.

Don Jepsen is a free-lance writer living in Salem.