Wednesday, January 24, 2001
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Wednesday, January 24, 2001 |
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Cox targets drug test fraud By DAVE
HAMRICK State Rep. Kathy Cox of Peachtree City has aimed her latest legislative effort at those who sell "clean" urine in order to defraud drug testers. House Bill 20 would amend the laws against defrauding drug and alcohol screening tests to provide for up to $10,000 in fines and five years in jail for selling one's urine for that purpose. "According to current state statute, it's not illegal to sell your urine to use for someone wanting to defraud a drug test," said Cox. It may seem funny that no one has thought of such a bill before, but Cox said it's a relatively new area of law. "We didn't have this problem 20 years ago," she said. When you drive down the road and see posters on telephone poles giving phone numbers where people can call and "pass any drug test," the people involved are currently engaged in a legal business, though it's illegal for you to use the urine for that purpose, she said. Modeled after a similar statute in South Carolina, the bill would not threaten legitimate uses of urine for medical research or other purposes, she added. In other matters before the state General Assembly, Cox said she has been studying teen driving problems for about two years in response to constituent concerns. A bill currently in the state Senate would require 40 hours of supervised driving for a driver's license, and would limit the numbers and ages of passengers during a teen's first year with a license. It also would require an on-the road test. Cox said she applauds the idea of an on-the-road test, but she isn't sure having teens taught by their parents is enough. "We've had a lot of bad adult drivers teaching their kids to drive," she said. "I want to encourage driver training, though there are probably not enough places available to mandate it." She said she also would encourage employers to provide driver education for their employees. Cox, a teacher at Sandy Creek High School, is cautiously optimistic concerning plans in the Legislature for more education reforms, but she's waiting for more specifics. "I've not seen specifics of Gov. Barnes' proposals yet," she said, adding that she is encouraged by talk of reduced class sizes and state-paid paraprofessionals for kindergarten. A proposed 4.5 percent pay hike also will be useful, she said, but added that she would like to see more long-term study on how teachers are paid. "I would like to see us take a really hard look at how we pay teachers, reward teachers and advance them so that they stay in the classroom and be able to earn a professional salary as they gain experience," Cox said. "Right now, those who want to make a professional salary have to leave the classroom and go into administration or something," she added. More classroom money also sounds good, she said, "but I can't get any word on where this money will go." She fears counties like Fayette will be shortchanged in favor of counties that have neglected class size in the past.
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