Meth Testing Bill Faces Opposition
02.10.2010 by Elizabeth Ziegler
(KCPW News) Representative Steve Mascaro believes Utahns will be safer under his bill to require property owners and managers who are aware a home might be contaminated with methamphetamine to conduct a test that can detect harmful levels of the drug. But his legislation is vocally opposed by realtors and landlords, and the attorneys representing them, like Kirk Cullimore.
“What we’re trying not to do with this bill, the reason we’re opposing it, is that it’s kind of the good landlord problem, is that we’re taking all the good guys and saying you’re going to have to conduct all of this testing to protect yourself when we’re really trying to focus on the few that aren’t taking care of the problems,” said Cullimore.
Testing for meth contamination is available for homeowners, but costs between $45 and $125.
Currently, property owners must report contamination only if they have concrete knowledge of it. Once notified, the health department may condemn a property to protect public safety. That’s what happened to Riverton resident Rachel Spencer and her husband, who lost everything they owned when their apartment was condemned. She says the apartment manager was unresponsive when the couple complained they were suffering health problems, and suspected their apartment was contaminated with meth.
“We were newly wed. We didn’t know what a meth apartment looked like, smelled like, anything,” she said. “But they should have known. And they should have done something.”
The House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice committee voted to table the bill this morning, reducing its chances of passing this legislative session.
Representative Steve Mascaro believes Utahns will be safer under his bill to require property owners and managers who are aware a home might be contaminated with methamphetamine to conduct a test that can detect harmful levels of the drug. But his legislation is vocally opposed by realtors and landlords, and the attorneys representing them, like Kirk Cullimore.
10-METH 1 :15 “… care of the problems.”
“What we’re trying not to do with this bill, the reason we’re opposing it, is that it’s kind of the good landlord problem, is that we’re taking all the good guys and saying you’re going to have to conduct all of this testing to protect yourself when we’re really trying to focus on the few that aren’t taking care of the problems.”
Testing for meth contamination is available for homeowners, but costs between $45 and $125 dollars.
Currently, property owners must report contamination only if they have concrete knowledge of it. Once notified, the health department may condemn a property to protect public safety. That’s what happened to Riverton resident Rachel Spencer and her husband, who lost everything they owned when their apartment was condemned. She says the apartment manager was unresponsive when the couple complained they were suffering health problems, and suspected their apartment was contaminated with meth.
10-METH 2 :10 “… should have done something.”
“We were newly wed. We didn’t know what a meth apartment looked like, smelled like, anything. But they should have known. And they should have done something.”
The House Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice committee voted to table the bill this morning (yesterday), reducing its chances of passing this legislative session.
This is without a doubt the most rediculous bill I have ever seen. I am the owner and operation manager for meth lab cleanup company. We are a nation wide company the deals with about 2000 meth labs a year throughout the nation. Although this is an important issue, there is already a disclosure law in place regarding this issue. And, to make testing a requirement as it is outlined is without a doubt the most irresponsibale comment/requirement I have seen in a long time.
Testing for meth or any contaminant is NOT as simple as buying a kit! There are proper methods for conducting such an experiment and proper methods of analysis at the labs that MUSt be met in order to make an experiment LEGALLY DEFENCIBLE. Pulling a meth sample is difficult, even for a trained person, and, many of the laboratories offering analysis are not even close to meeting the industry standard “tolerance Specifications” requirements. This bill showed be tabled FOREVER!