Unintended Consequences

Capitol Considerations

A Weekly Column by Senator Micheal Bergstrom

Unintended Consequences

A couple years back I hired an electrical contractor to run power to an out building on my property and to install a 30-amp box in the yard for a camper.

After the work was done, I plugged the camper in and immediately heard the sounds of the electrical converter being fried. Turned out the electrician had installed something incorrectly and I ended up with a new converter in the camper.

It was an honest mistake, but it had unintended consequences.

Legislation can also have unintended consequences. Regulations intended to prevent one set of issues might result in a whole new set of problems. A tax incentive intended to bring an industry to the state can end up getting out of control and become a financial burden on the state, and sometimes a new law which is passed with the best of intentions can end up making a problem even worse.

I was on my way to a meeting on the last day that legislators could put in a bill request when my phone rang. It was about 4:30 in the afternoon. I pulled over and listened to the voicemail, but wasn’t able to make out what the caller wanted. So I called Holly, my executive assistant, gave her the number and asked her to return the call. Then I got back on the road again.

Fifteen minutes later Holly called me back.

The caller was someone in my district in law enforcement, and he was asking for me to do something about a statute that had recently been passed. He was concerned about the new law’s unintended consequences. I had also had police officers, sheriffs, assistant district attorneys and quite a few others tell me the same thing.

“Senator, you have ten minutes,” Holly told me.

Ten minutes before the bill request deadline. I asked her to put in the request.

The law so many were concerned about? State Question 780.

Voters in November had approved the measure. The goal of the measure is good, to help reduce the number of non-violent criminals in prison, to provide opportunities for many to avoid a felony conviction and remain a productive member of society.

However, here’s an example of the law’s unintended consequences.

As one assistant district attorney explained it to me, someone can have dangerous drugs like meth or heroin and even be in the presence of children, and the only consequence is a misdemeanor charge and a fine. Then he or she can do the same thing again the next day and the next and on and on. The district attorney has no way to force the individual into drug court or rehabilitation.

So here’s what I’ve done.

My bill, SB256, makes a third arrest for drug possession a felony. Drugs like marijuana are excluded from this change. As the number of arrests go up, so does the punishment, and an arrest where children are at risk carries an even greater penalty.

By offering this common sense response to a well-intended law, I hope to put some teeth back into the law, better protect our state’s children, and give law enforcement the tool it needs to encourage those with a drug problem to get the help they need.

It is something that I think is worthy of consideration.

As always, I am interested in feedback from my constituents, so if you have any questions or comments, please email me at bergstrom@oksenate.gov. My office can also be reached by phone at 405-521-5561.