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Committee lays over bill authorizing hair-follicle drug tests in abuse and neglect cases after jurisdiction questions
Summary
Committee discussion of House Bill 3167 centered on whether courts could order hair-follicle tests before a petition is filed; the committee laid the bill over for further review.
House Bill 3167, which would allow a judge in an abuse and neglect proceeding to order an adult respondent to undergo a hair-follicle drug test at any point after an allegation is made, was laid over after committee members questioned the measure's reach and timing.
Committee Counsel summarized the bill: "House bill 3167 authorizes the judge in an abuse and neglect proceeding to order an adult respondent to undergo a hair follicle drug test at any point after the abuse and neglect petition has been filed." Senator Brook pressed the point that subsection F appeared to allow testing "at any point in time after an allegation is made, so that's even before a petition has been filed," asking whether that would grant a court jurisdiction over an individual before a formal petition existed.
Committee Counsel acknowledged uncertainty about the subsection's intent, saying, "I'm not entirely sure of what was intended by that provision of subsection F, given that at this point, there would not have been a petition filed." Following the exchange, counsel asked to lay the bill over; the chair accepted that request and the bill was set aside for further consideration.
The committee did not take a final vote on HB3167. The issue raised — whether courts could order intrusive testing before a petition and adjudication — will require additional drafting or explanation before the committee advances the measure.
