‘Ice’ bill restricts
cold medicines

Drugstores and retailers selling cold medicine with pseudoephedrine would have to keep closer watch over their supplies, under a bill winning tentative approval from two legislative committees.

Consumers would also be limited to buying three packages or a maximum of nine grams of the cold medicine at a time. The measure is designed to stop illegal-drug makers from buying pseudoephedrine to make crystal methamphetamine.

Senate Bill 1100 was one of several bills still alive as the Legislature works toward an adjournment Thursday.

Sen. Roz Baker (D, Honokohau-Makena), Health Committee chairwoman, said the bill had originally called for recording the names of purchasers and putting the cold tablets behind the retailer's counter.

The proposal, which now must be voted on by the House and Senate, requires retailers to store the medicine in plain view of a store clerk, behind the counter or in view of a security camera to keep people from stealing the cold remedies.

"I hope retailers will use the cameras because so much of the product is walking out of the stores unpaid for," Baker said.

Keith Kamita, administrator of the state Narcotics Enforcement Division, said the bill does not go far enough because a drug manufacturer could make repeated purchases.

"Putting it behind the counter would have been a big step," Kamita said. "Allowing it on the shelves, you are still going to have pilfering."

Last year, 15 crystal meth labs were shut down in Hawaii. Kamita said police have already raided 10 labs this year.

In other legislative action, a bill to stop the Lingle administration from changing the workers' compensation rules also won tentative approval.

The measure, SB 1808, limits the state labor director's rule-making authority.

Nelson Befitel, state labor director, said the state is preparing to change workers' compensation rules that would save employers money.

"Our workers' comp system last year received an F, and now it is going to be worse," Befitel said.

But Sen. Brian Kanno (D, Kalaeloa-Makakilo), Labor Committee chairman, said the Legislature wanted Gov. Linda Lingle to go through the Legislature to propose workers' comp changes and not push them through as rules.

"We are concerned about the separation of power. The governor came in with the proposal last year, and the Legislature did not approve them," Kanno said.

"We wanted to make it clear that when she wants to implement a policy change, it has to be adopted by the Legislature," he added.

Finally, voters will vote next year with electronic machines that will be required to produce a paper tally or record of each vote, if the Legislature approves a bill that was adopted last night by a conference committee.

House Bill 1740 requires "a paper trail," according to Rep. Sylvia Luke (D, Pacific Heights-Punchbowl), Judiciary Committee chairwoman.

"This is to ensure public confidence for voters and to reassure voters that what is entered in the machine is the actual vote cast," Luke said.

The state chief election officer would be responsible for making sure that the voting machines produce a paper tally of votes cast.