| 1 | A bill to be entitled |
| 2 | An act relating to drug testing within the Department of |
| 3 | Corrections; amending s. 944.474, F.S.; authorizing the |
| 4 | department to develop a program for testing employees who |
| 5 | are in safety-sensitive and special risk positions for |
| 6 | certain controlled substances based upon a reasonable |
| 7 | suspicion; providing for the reasonable suspicion to |
| 8 | include violent acts or behavior of an employee while on |
| 9 | or off duty; requiring the department to adopt rules; |
| 10 | providing an effective date. |
| 11 |
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| 12 | Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: |
| 13 |
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| 14 | Section 1. Subsection (2) of section 944.474, Florida |
| 15 | Statutes, is amended to read: |
| 16 | 944.474 Legislative intent; employee wellness program; |
| 17 | drug and alcohol testing.-- |
| 18 | (2) Under no circumstances shall employees of the |
| 19 | department test positive for illegal use of controlled |
| 20 | substances. An employee of the department may not be under the |
| 21 | influence of alcohol while on duty. In order to ensure that |
| 22 | these prohibitions are adhered to by all employees of the |
| 23 | department and notwithstanding s. 112.0455, the department may |
| 24 | develop a program for the random drug testing of all employees. |
| 25 | The department may randomly evaluate employees for the |
| 26 | contemporaneous use or influence of alcohol through the use of |
| 27 | alcohol tests and observation methods. Notwithstanding s. |
| 28 | 112.0455(5)(a), the department may develop a program for the |
| 29 | reasonable suspicion drug testing of employees who are in |
| 30 | safety-sensitive or special risk positions, as defined in s. |
| 31 | 112.0455(5), for the controlled substances listed in s. |
| 32 | 893.03(3)(d). The reasonable suspicion drug testing authorized |
| 33 | by this subsection shall be conducted in accordance with s. |
| 34 | 112.0455, but may also include testing upon reasonable suspicion |
| 35 | based on violent acts or violent behavior of an employee who is |
| 36 | on or off duty. The department shall adopt rules pursuant to ss. |
| 37 | 120.536(1) and 120.54 that are necessary to administer this |
| 38 | subsection. |
| 39 | Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2006. |