|
Oklahoma
State Senate
Communications Division
State Capitol
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73105
For Immediate Release: March 8, 2010
Sen. Roger Ballenger
Sen. Ballenger Wins Approval for Bill Protecting Renters
From Meth Properties
The full Senate has given
approval to a measure ensuring greater consumer protection for renters
through passage of the Clandestine Drug Laboratories Remediation
Act. Senate Bill 2241, by Sen. Roger
Ballenger, D-Okmulgee, and Rep. Wade Rousselot, D-Wagoner, would
require property owners to remediate an apartment, hotel room or
residence used to make meth before it could be rented to anyone.
“Under current law, the owner of a property that’s been
used for a meth lab can rent that unit or house back out once the
dangerous material has been removed, but there’s no requirement
for the property to be tested and remediated to ensure it is safe,”
Ballenger said. “My legislation would require law enforcement
to post notice that a meth lab had been discovered there and require
testing and remediation before it could be rented again.”
In addition, anyone living in the unit at the time a meth lab is
discovered would have to be evacuated until the property was deemed
safe.
“For years we’ve seen declines in meth labs due to tough
laws passed in Oklahoma, but now newer, easier methods of making
meth have been discovered, and these ‘shake and bake’
labs are popping up in every part of the state,” Ballenger
explained. “We don’t know what the long-term effects
are, but we know the substances that result from these meth labs
are toxic and highly flammable, so we need greater protections in
place for prospective renters.”
SB 2241 must now be considered by the House of Representatives.
For more information contact:
Sen. Ballenger: 405-521-5588
|
