Effective date for 2005 unicameral legislation is Sunday 9-4

Ephedrine restrictions, drunk driving laws, sexual assault, unemployment compensation have new laws; September 3, 2005 New Nebraska laws take effect Sunday WORLD-HERALD BUREAU the most prominent bill, 117 imposes substantial regulations on pharmacies and stores that sell over the counter allergy medications. and nebraska kept saying it is probusiness. LINCOLN - The shelves in the Falls City Pharmacy that once held relief from colds, allergies and sinus headaches are bare now. Photocopies of the boxes of Sudafed, Claritin-D and other pseudoephedrine medications are now taped below the empty spaces on the shelves. A sign tells customers to ask staff if they want the nonprescription products. It's been that way since early August at the store across the street from the Richardson County Courthouse, said Howard Jochum, a staff pharmacist. Starting Sunday, such products will disappear from open store shelves across Nebraska as a new law aimed at battling methamphetamine takes effect. The anti-meth law is one of several bills passed by the Legislature this year that are kicking in Sunday. Among them are new laws allowing Nebraska felons to regain voting rights, authorizing all-mail elections in small counties, getting tougher on repeat drunken drivers and helping get unused cancer drugs to those who could use them. Legislative Bill 117 requires that pseudoephedrine, a key meth-making ingredient, be sold from behind the counter or kept in a locked cabinet. The law requires purchasers to be 18 or older and show government-issued photo identification to buy the medication. It limits purchasers to no more than 1,440 milligrams - about 48 doses - in a 24-hour period. Jochum said the Falls City store restricted access to pseudoephedrine products a month early so people could become accustomed to the change. Despite the inconvenience, he said, customers have been understanding. "They're willing to make a small sacrifice to make this corner of Nebraska safer. Most people are aware of the problems we've been having with meth," he said. LB 117 also increases penalties for meth cookers and sellers, making the penalties the same as for equal amounts of cocaine. Several changes in state voting laws take effect Sunday as well. One law, passed over Gov. Dave Heineman's veto, restores voting rights to felons two years after they finish their sentences. A second allows counties with fewer than 7,000 residents to conduct elections entirely by mail. Voting at satellite sites, such as shopping malls or local festivals, could be tried under a third new law. Yet another one changes the name of absentee ballots to "ballots for early voting." Under other laws taking effect: • People who repeatedly drink and drive could face stiffer penalties under the new crime of aggravated driving under the influence. The crime is a Class I misdemeanor, which carries a mandatory 30 days in jail with a 1 year maximum. Repeat offenders also will have their driver's licenses revoked for up to 15 years. Judges will have to impound or revoke the licenses of drunken drivers, instead of suspending them. • Workers who quit their jobs without good cause or who are fired for misconduct will have to wait longer to qualify for unemployment benefits. The law also freezes maximum benefits and increases unemployment insurance taxes to improve the fiscal health of the state's unemployment insurance trust fund. • The Nebraska State Patrol will set up a clearinghouse of information about missing people, both adults and minors. The law requires the State Patrol to set up an Internet site and a toll-free phone line and issue monthly bulletins. • People renovating historic properties could qualify for a property tax break on the property for up to eight years. • First- or second-degree sexual assault no longer will have a statute of limitations, and medical personnel will be required to report sexual assault to law enforcement. • Church members, school volunteers and others cooking food at home for charitable fundraising events won't have to worry about being licensed as food establishments - as long as their contributions are labeled as being from a home kitchen. • The state will create a registry of doctors, pharmacies and others who have agreed to accept unused cancer-fighting drugs donated by one patient for use by others. • Dying and permanently incapacitated prison inmates, except those with sentences of death or of life imprisonment, can be granted medical parole.