MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE

1999 Regular Session

To: Judiciary A

By: Representative Nettles

AN ACT TO PROVIDE FOR THE TESTING OF ALL ELECTED OFFICIALS OF THE STATE FOR UNLAWFUL DRUG USE; TO PROVIDE THAT THE BUREAU OF NARCOTICS, IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH, SHALL ESTABLISH AND ADMINISTER A TESTING PROGRAM TO ACCOMPLISH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THIS ACT; TO PROVIDE FOR REMOVAL FROM OFFICE; TO PROVIDE FOR FILLING VACANCIES IN OFFICE RESULTING FROM REMOVAL; TO AMEND SECTION 41-29-111, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO PROVIDE THAT THE BUREAU OF NARCOTICS AND THE STATE BOARD OF HEALTH SHALL COOPERATE IN ADMINISTERING THE TESTING PROGRAM; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:

SECTION 1. (1) Every elected official of the state and its political subdivisions shall be tested annually to determine whether unlawful drugs are present in the system of such person. The Bureau of Narcotics, in conjunction with the State Board of Health, shall establish and administer a testing program with such standards and procedures as deemed necessary to accomplish the requirements of this section. For the purposes of this section, "elected officials of the state" shall include all persons elected to any political office of the state or its political subdivisions.

(2) All testing required pursuant to this section shall be performed at the Mississippi Crime Laboratory or at a laboratory approved by the Director of the Mississippi Crime Laboratory.

(3) The results of such testing shall be disclosed only to the Commissioner of Public Safety. The test results of the Commissioner of Public Safety shall be disclosed only to the Secretary of State.

(4) Each individual tested shall pay a reasonable fee to defray the costs of the testing, which payment may be paid through a payroll deduction.

(5) Any elected official whose test results are positive regarding the presence of unlawful drugs in such elected official's system shall be removed from office and the vacancy in such office shall be filled in the manner prescribed by law.

SECTION 2. Section 41-29-111, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:

41-29-111. The bureau shall administer this article and shall work in conjunction and cooperation with the State Board of Pharmacy, county and municipal law enforcement agencies, the district and county attorneys, the Office of the Attorney General and the Mississippi Highway Safety Patrol. The State Board of Health shall work with the bureau in an advisory capacity and shall be responsible for recommending to the Legislature the appropriate schedule for all substances to be scheduled or rescheduled in Sections 41-29-113 through 41-29-121. In making a recommendation regarding a substance, the board shall consider the following:

(a) (1) The actual or relative potential for abuse;

(2) The scientific evidence of its pharmacological effect, if known;

(3) The state of current scientific knowledge regarding the substance;

(4) The history and current pattern of abuse;

(5) The scope, duration and significance of abuse;

(6) The risk to the public health;

(7) The potential of the substance to produce psychic or physiological dependence liability; and

(8) Whether the substance is an immediate precursor of a substance already controlled under this article.

(b) After considering the factors enumerated in paragraph (a), the board shall make findings with respect thereto and issue a recommendation to control the substance if it finds the substance has a potential for abuse.

(c) If the board designates a substance as an immediate precursor, substances which are precursors of the controlled precursor shall not be recommended for control solely because they are precursors of the controlled precursor.

(d) If any substance is designated, rescheduled, or deleted as a controlled substance under federal law and notice thereof is given to the board, it shall recommend the control of the substance under this article at the next session of the Legislature.

(e) Authority to control under this article does not extend to distilled spirits, wine, malt beverages, or tobacco as those terms are defined or used in the Local Option Alcoholic Beverage Control Law, being Sections 67-1-1 through 67-1-91, and the Tobacco Tax Law of 1934, being Sections 27-69-1 through 27-69-77. It is the intent of the Legislature of the State of Mississippi that the bureau shall concentrate its efforts and resources on the enforcement of the Uniform Controlled Substances Law with respect to illicit narcotic and drug traffic in the state.

The controlled substances listed in the schedules in Sections 41-29-113 through 41-29-121 are included by whatever official, common, usual, chemical or trade name designated.

(f) The board shall recommend the exclusion of any nonnarcotic substance from a schedule if such substance may, under the Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act and the laws of this state, be lawfully sold over the counter without a prescription.

The bureau and the board shall cooperate in the administration of the testing program for the presence of unlawful drugs in elected officials of the state as provided for in Section 1 of this act.

SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 1999.