S-3785               _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 6168

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                              50th Legislature                              1988 Regular Session

By Senator Pullen

Read first time 1/13/88 and referred to Committee on Law & Justice.

AN ACT Relating to drug testing of amateur athletes; enacting the Betsy O'Halloran freedom and privacy protection act of 1988; adding a new section to chapter 28B.10 RCW; creating new sections; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.     The legislature:

          (1) Finds drug testing for amateur athletics to be an invasion of privacy protected by Article I, section 7 of the state Constitution and the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States;

          (2) Finds drug testing to be imprecise and often inaccurate;

          (3) Finds no evidence of compelling need for drug testing in amateur athletics;

          (4) Finds drug testing by means of monitored urination to be especially intrusive of an amateur athlete's right to privacy;

          (5) Recognizes the great courage of Betsy O'Halloran in refusing to participate in the drug testing program required for competition in national collegiate athletic association events;

          (6) Recognizes the sacrifice Betsy O'Halloran made to protect her right to privacy and the rights of her fellow amateur athletes; and

          (7) Enacts section 3 of this act for the purpose of preventing further abuse of drug testing among amateur athletes in Washington state.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     This act may be known and cited as the Betsy O'Halloran freedom and privacy protection act of 1988.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.  A new section is added to chapter 28B.10 RCW to read as follows:

          No amateur athlete at a postsecondary school in the state, including but not limited to a college, university, or community college, may be required to take a drug test as a prerequisite to participation in amateur athletic competition.  Further, no postsecondary school may prohibit an amateur athlete from participating in athletic competition because of any rulings of the national collegiate athletic association.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.     This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, the support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.