Days after he proposed a measure requiring those running for a legislative office to take a drug test, Sen. Jack Harper, R-4, went to a testing center and took one.
It’s his way of showing he is serious about the proposal, he said. He paid $45 for the test from his officeholder expense account, he added.
“I took it this afternoon at about 12 p.m.,” Harper told reporters Jan. 24 as he showed them the receipt.
Harper’s drug test came in Jan. 25. He is clean, according to a copy of the results provided by the Senate secretary’s office. The senator’s urine was negative for prohibited drugs such as amphetamines, cocaine and opiates as well as alcohol.
“I’m serious about the proposal. I’m willing to hold myself to a higher standard and show them I’m willing to hold myself to a higher standard,” he said.
People who want to run for the state Legislature and be the 90 people who make the state’s laws should show that they’re not violating the law, Harper said.
Later in the day, Harper released a letter to the press explaining his action.
The Treatment Assessment Screening Center conducted the test, his letter said, and that the results would be faxed to the Senate secretary’s office.
Harper’s bill, S1066, does not disqualify those found with traces of “unlawful or controlled substances” in their systems from running for office; rather it allows the public to view the test results.
“This stems from a debate that I had with a Democrat member last year and the member said, ‘Yeah right, Jack, like you’ve never done drugs.’ I said, ‘No, I have not.’ And it (the conversation) led me to believe that maybe some people think that experimenting with drugs is commonplace,” he said last week. “I don’t think that sets a good example for the younger generation.”