Lawmakers shouldn’t show up drunk, panel says
`Legislators and staff members should not be drunk while performing official duties, a citizen commission recommended Monday.
The Public Commission on the Oregon Legislature left it up to House and Senate leaders to draft rules against intoxication and possible penalties.
“We were uncomfortable acting as a nanny,” said Kerry Tymchuk, a commission member and state director for U.S. Sen. Gordon Smith, R-Ore.
The proposal was put forth March 13 by Steve Doell of Lake Oswego, the president of Crime Victims United, who said he and member Anne Pratt of Springfield noticed alcohol on the breath of at least one legislator at the end of the 2005 session while they were advocating tougher drunken-driving penalties.’
