A bill under consideration in the state Senate would require applicants for public assistance to undergo drug testing.

The bill��s primary sponsor is Sen. David Rouzer, R-Johnston. The bill has multiple co-sponsors in the Senate.

Filed Wednesday, the bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Rules and Operations, according to the N.C. General Assembly’s website.

From that committee, the proposal could be forwarded to the judiciary or local government committees, Rouzer said in an interview.

The bill states “an applicant shall undergo a substance abuse screening as administered by the county department of social services in the county in which the applicant resides.”

The bill calls on the N.C. Social Services Commission to adopt rules for carrying out policy that would grow from the new law.

This act would take effect immediately after passing the House and Senate and being signed into law by Gov. Beverly Perdue.

It wasn’t clear which state-administered social programs would be affected by the measure.

Rouzer said the bill generally would apply to every social-services aid program.

“It is drafted to be as inclusive as possible of all public assistance programs,” he said.

The method of applicant drug testing would be left up to each county in the state, he said.

“The main reason why I’m proposing it is I think the taxpayer should have assurance that we are not subsidizing a drug addiction which in turn is leading to more dependency, and that’s the rationale for the bill,” Rouzer stated.

Asked whether the bill could be a deterrent to public-assistance applicants who aren’t on drugs, he replied, “Most of the time when you’re applying for a job, many employers require you to pass a drug test. If you’re not on drugs, I don’t see why that would be an impediment at all.”

The bill also specifies that applicants found to be using illegal substances would be routed to personnel who could help them, the senator concluded.

Sonya Toman, director of the Beaufort County Department of Social Services, indicated it’s unclear which DSS programs would be altered by the recently introduced legislation.

“Until we see something that’s specific, our position is that anyone we deal with we always encourage folks to seek treatment for drug abuse,” Toman said.

Sylvia King, income-maintenance program manager for Beaufort County DSS, said two programs her agency administers already have drug-screening č not testing č components: the Work First Family Assistance and food-and-nutrition programs.

Work First applicants undergo a screening process involving a series of questions about drug and alcohol use, according to King.

If the screening indicates the applicant has a substance-abuse problem, he or she will be referred for counseling, she said.

Existing policy says “counties are prohibited from drug and alcohol testing” of applicants, King related.

Private businesses that employ DSS clients may conduct drug testing, she advised.

Applicants for the food-and-nutrition program are subject to background checks for drug offenses, King said.

If the background check turns up certain classes of drug convictions in the state, the applicant can remain eligible for DSS help by taking part in a drug- or alcohol-treatment program, she added.

Each conviction for a drug offense has to be dealt with separately for the food-and-nutrition program, according to King.

If the conviction is for anything other than a Class H or Class I offense, “They can never get food stamps again,” she said.

Sen. Stan White, D-Dare, represents Beaufort County and seven other northeast counties.

White said he hadn’t seen the drug-testing bill and hadn’t had a chance to form an opinion on it as of Thursday.

“One thing I’m finding out up here is that the devil is in the details,” he said of the situation in Raleigh.

Bill Booth, president of the Beaufort County NAACP, said he needed more information about the bill before issuing a detailed statement.

“From the limited conversation, it sounds like something that has good potential, but I don’t know what else is involved,” Booth commented.

Al Klemm, a Beaufort County commissioner, suggested he would favor the bill.

“One of the problems with people getting jobs is a lot of people tend to flunk the drug test,” said Klemm, a Republican. “To me, it’s a very sad situation, but we do have a very bad drug problem in the state, I guess the entire country.”

Klemm acknowledged he’s no expert in this arena, but he said many private businesses test people for drugs before hiring them.

He indicated applicants for public assistance shouldn’t be exempt from testing.

“In relation to getting public assistance, I would think it would be good that everything was done to get people off of drugs,” Klemm stated. “I would say that would be an incentive to get people off of drugs.”