Florida passes bill to test state workers for drugs, alcohol

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Florida lawmakers on Friday approved a measure allowing state agency heads to randomly test employees for illegal drugs, sending the bill to Governor Rick Scott, who is expected to sign it.

By a 26-14 vote, the Senate approved a measure, House Bill 1205, that allows up to 10 percent of a department's employees to be randomly tested for alcohol and other substance abuse.

"This is the 21st Century and drug abuse is rampant," said Senator Alan Hays, a Republican from Umatilla and Senate sponsor of the bill.

The bill would allow tests to be conducted every 90 days. It would prohibit department heads from firing employees who initially test positive for drugs but could require such employees to participate in rehabilitation programs.

Backers of the measure said the voluntary program mirrors efforts that have long been in place in private industry.

"I've had a drug-free workplace for more than 20 years," said Senator Jack Latvala, a Clearwater Republican who is chief executive of a printing company. "I believe that it has contributed to higher quality employees."

Critics, a coalition of Democrats and at least one conservative Republican, said the measure was an intrusive and unnecessary procedure. They also chided their Republican colleagues for a "big government" program that they said would improperly insert the government into an employee's personal life.

"We're talking less personal freedom without probable cause," said Senator Chris Smith, a Democrat from Fort Lauderdale. "This is more government intrusion and more costs."

"It is a waste of our time and our money," said Senator Larcenia Bullard, a Democrat from Miami.

Lawmakers in several states have passed similar measures in the past few years. Florida legislators last year voted to require applicants for federal public assistance to pass a test for illegal drugs. A federal judge barred enforcement of that law pending resolution of a challenge to its constitutionality.

The courts have generally upheld random drug testing for workers in jobs that involve public safety. But opponents say that broader testing of workers who are not suspected of wrongdoing violates their constitutional protection against unreasonable searches and seizure, and robs them of due process.

(Editing by Paul Thomasch)

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Perry passes Romney among Republicans in polls (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Rick Perry has taken a double-digit lead over Mitt Romney in the Republican presidential nomination race in two polls released on Wednesday, an indication that the Texas governor could replace the former Massachusetts governor as early favorite.

Although he only formally entered the race on August 13, 29 percent of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents said Perry would most likely be their choice to oppose Democratic President Barack Obama in 2012, according to a Gallup poll.

Perry's support among Republicans was not dented by strong comments just after getting into the race, when he raised eyebrows among some of the party's opinion leaders by seeming to threaten Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and questioning Obama's patriotism.

The first nominating contests will not begin until early next year, but most of the other Republican White House hopefuls have been campaigning for months. Romney had been first in most nationwide opinion polls.

Gallup said 17 percent favored Romney, when asked to rate the field of candidates vying for the nomination. Texas Congressman Ron Paul was third, at 13 percent, and Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann came fourth, with 10 percent.

The telephone poll of 1,040 Republicans and Republican-leaning independents on August 17-21 was the first conducted after the second Republican candidates' debate in Iowa, the Iowa Straw Poll and Perry's entry into the race.

Businessman Herman Cain was at 4 percent, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich had 3 percent, ex-Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum was at 3 percent and former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman had 1 percent support in the Gallup poll.

Perry also had a big lead over Romney in a survey of Republican primary voters conducted by the Democratic pollster Public Policy Polling.

Thirty-three percent said they would vote for Perry, versus 20 percent for Romney. Bachmann had 16 percent support. The rest of the field was in single digits, with Gingrich at 8 percent, Paul and Cain at 6 percent, Santorum at 4 percent and Huntsman with 3 percent.

PPP surveyed 663 Republican primary voters from August 18 to 21st.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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