Individuals who believe that they are living in a place where methamphetamine has been smoked or cooked may soon have a few more avenues for dealing with that contamination.

New anti-drug legislation began to make its way through the House on Wednesday, passing in a committee. The bill, according to its sponsor, Rep. David Litvack, D-Salt Lake City, attempts to create, "an avenue for individuals who suspect their home, or their rental property is contaminated through meth ... to approach the local health department."

The bill would serve two basic purposes, said Litvack. First is to create a reporting avenue, and the second is to broaden what law enforcement can use as evidence for reporting meth contamination.

The bill would make it the responsibility of the person making the complaint to bear the cost of chemical testing. Once that testing is completed, a report can then be filed with the health department. According to Litvack, one of the major problems with meth testing is the lack of resources available to local health departments to conduct the testing.

Setting a standard for the testing of a property before involving local health departments, is, according to Litvack, the first step to beginning the disclosure and cleanup process.

Despite the new requirement for complainants to pay for testing, Litvack said that this new legislation would not preclude the possibility of people reporting physical evidence of the production or smoking of meth in a home to law enforcement.

Rep. Larry Wiley, D-Salt Lake City, said the areas in which meth labs are set up are typically in low-income areas, so families might not be able to afford the required testing.

Litvack said he shared that concern, but notes that this will only serve as a secondary channel for the reporting of meth contamination. "The primary notification will still come though law enforcement," he said.

Litvack said that new studies are showing that not only can production of meth contaminate homes and make people very sick, but also the large quantities of meth having been smoked in homes can be equally hazardous.

Physical signs of meth contamination can include yellow stains seeping out of walls and various pieces of equipment used for meth production or drug paraphernalia found on a property.

Current law provides that an owner picks up the cost of cleaning a property that has been contaminated, a statute that this bill will not alter.

The bill now moves to the House floor.

HB 162, Illegal Drug Sites Contamination Amendments, Rep. David Litvack, D-Salt Lake City. This bill expands definitions of evidence for meth production and consumption as well as requires home owners and renters to obtain testing prior to reporting suspected contamination to their local health department.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page A3.