04/11/1997 01:13 PM House JUD

 HB 207 - EMPLOYER DRUG TESTING PROGRAM                                        
                                                                               
 Number 707                                                                    
                                                                               
 CHAIRMAN GREEN advised members they would next consider HB 207, "An           
 Act relating to employer drug and alcohol testing programs."  He              
 reminded members the bill had previously been discussed by the                
 committee and several members had additional concerns; therefore,             
 the bill had been held over.                                                  
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ noted that Chairman Green would be                   
 offering an amendment, and he advised members that would answer one           
 of the questions he had on the proposed legislation.  He referred             
 to pages 5 and 6, which addressed the collection of samples and               
 testing procedures, and wanted to be certain that there was an                
 understanding that collection and testing be done according to                
 prescribed standards with people who were qualified to take the               
 samples and maintain them.  He asked if the bill language had been            
 used in other instances and proven satisfactory.                              
                                                                               
 JEFF LOGAN, Legislative Assistant to Representative Joe Green,                
 responded to Representative Berkowitz's question and stated that              
 the language in Sections .630 and .640 that spoke to the collection           
 of samples and testing procedures was used in other states, and               
 stated that it was based on federal language.  Mr. Logan pointed              
 out that similar legislation had been in effect in the state of               
 Utah since 1988 and had not been challenged there.                            
                                                                               
 MR. LOGAN explained that under Section .640, subsection (c), which            
 talked about the certification of laboratories, that the Substance            
 Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) was the              
 highest level of certification in the United States.  He stated               
 that he had been assured by a couple of different institutes in               
 Washington D.C., that it was the highest certification in the world           
 for drug testing.  Mr. Logan advised members that the College of              
 American Pathologists, American Association of Clinical Chemists              
 was the second highest certification in the United States.                    
                                                                               
 MR. LOGAN stated that there were 71 SAMSHA certified labs, and they           
 were the labs that were used for testing purposes in the Department           
 of Transportation.  The chain of control of the sample, prior to it           
 reaching the laboratory, had been spelled out as clearly as                   
 possible, and he was very comfortable that once the sample was at             
 the lab it would be handled as properly as possible.                          
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ advised members that his concern was based           
 on his experience representing people who had subjected to drug               
 testing, and the chain of custody was absolutely essential, as well           
 as proper maintenance of the specimen.                                        
                                                                               
                                                                               
 CHAIRMAN GREEN agreed that that was a very good point, and realized           
 that in some cases there had been a break down.                               
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE BERKOWITZ stated with respect to Section 23.10.660,            
 page 7, line 20, that immunity would be waived if there was a                 
 breach of confidentiality, and asked for clarity on that.                     
                                                                               
 MR. LOGAN advised members that he had spoken with the drafter of              
 the bill on that topic and it was the intent and understanding that           
 immunity would be given if the employer complied with the                     
 provisions of the bill.  One of the provisions of the bill was that           
 the test results would be a confidential and privileged                       
 communication, and could not be disclosed.  He advised members that           
 if an employer released or disclosed that information, they would             
 have violated a provision in the bill and would, therefore, not be            
 subject to immunity.                                                          
                                                                               
 Number 1027                                                                   
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE JEANNETTE JAMES asked if that would include any                
 employee of the employer who was involved in the drug testing                 
 process.                                                                      
                                                                               
 CHAIRMAN GREEN agreed that would be the case.                                 
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE ERIC CROFT advised members that was his concern, and           
 hoped that would be addressed in the forthcoming proposed                     
 amendment.                                                                    
                                                                               
 CHAIRMAN GREEN offered Amendment 1.                                           
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE PORTER moved to adopt Amendment 1, page 2, line 23,            
 following "23.10.699", insert; if the action is based on drug or              
 alcohol testing.  There being no objection, Amendment 1, CSHB 207             
 (JUD) was adopted.                                                            
                                                                               
 REPRESENTATIVE PORTER moved to report CSHB 207(JUD) out of                    
 committee, as amended, with individual recommendations and attached           
 zero fiscal note.  There being no objection, CSHB 207(JUD) was                
 reported out of committee.