Testing lawmakers?
A couple of citizens from the Lake Arrowhead area want to know what lawmakers are smoking. Literally.
Dorothy Cummings and Gary Ellis have been approved by the secretary of state to try to qualify a ballot measure that would require all state legislators to be tested for the illegal use of drugs and the "habitual use of alcohol."
The idea is to prevent any lawmaker who tested positive from getting paid as – or even acting as -- a legislator until he or she completed a substance abuse program. And the lawmaker would have to foot the bill. Anyone who tested positive a second time would forfeit the elected office.
Ellis, who owns a real estate company, and Cummings, an employee, have 150 days to collect and submit the valid signatures of 433,971 registered voters in order to put their proposal on the ballot.
Signature-gathering is an expensive proposition; it is unclear whether the two will be able to raise the money to collect enough signatures.
-- Patrick McGreevy, reporting from Sacramento
What a couple of idiots. Things like this are why the USA is becoming the laughing stock of the world.
Posted by: Don | July 14, 2009 at 05:01 PM
Why?
Posted by: Concernio | July 15, 2009 at 07:37 AM
Is this really a problem? At least these people are working. Wouldn't be more wise to test those who don't work & live off the system - like those on welfare or chronic recipients of unemployment?
Posted by: patriotmom | July 15, 2009 at 10:05 AM