As Freestone county commissioners reviewed the county's employee manual on Monday they voted to establish random drug-testing for all current county employees, including elected officials, which has been the subject of frequent litigation in federal courts for several years without consensus.

The commissioners' good intentions to set an example to the county's workforce and their constituents could result in a court battle over the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

School boards and many other government entities are regulated by the state, meaning tests can only be performed if the legislature passes a law approving it. Currently Texas has no legislation that allows for the random testing of government employees.

In 1990, Texas Attorney General Jim Mattox stated his opinion at the request of a Robertson county judge regarding the random urine testing of deputy sheriffs and jailers.

Mattox stated, "The Texas constitutional guarantee of privacy would be violated by random urine testing of deputy sheriffs and jailers for the presence of drugs where no compelling governmental objective for the testing has been shown."

Currently, county employees assigned to safety sensitive duties or performing tasks that require CDL licensing are subject to random drug and alcohol testing.

Following selection and notification, the individual is immediately tested.

While elected officials in Freestone county may want to set an example by submitting to random drug testing themselves as some of their road and bridge precinct employees are required to do, it may be illegal.

Last summer in California, officials in the county of San Bernardino also attempted to instate random drug testing for the county's department heads, executive staff and elected leaders.

Under a California Supreme Court ruling individuals are protected from unlawful search and seizure, decreeing the testing mandated by the proposal as illegal, unless the employee is a new hire or there is reasonable suspicion of drug use.

This exemption from testing is extended to all current San Bernardino county employees and elected officials.

Elected officials are not drug-tested before assuming their post because the California county cannot bar the public's choice from taking office regardless of testing.

Earlier this month the Kanawha county school board in Charleston, West Virginia was forced to suspend the random drug testing of teachers and other school employees after a U.S. district judge ruled there was no evidence of a "pervasive" drug problem that would justify the tests.

In light of the ruling, county commissioners in Kanawha are now being forced to reexamine their current drug testing policy which requires random testing for county employees in safety sensitive positions, including sheriff's deputies, employees who operate dangerous equipment and even custodians in the courthouse.

County attorneys in Kanawha suggested that testing be temporarily suspended because despite employees being in safety sensitive positions the ruling suggested the presence of pervasive drug use must exist to justify testing.

Council members in Lafourche Parish, Louisiana narrowly passed and ordinance on Dec. 9, 2008 requiring random drug testing of themselves and anyone employed by Lafourche Parish government.

A current council member who was leading a campaign for random statewide drug test for public school teachers expanded his proposal to include council members and other government employees.

Council members who voted against the proposal expressed concerns over judicial precedent which could lead to a costly legal battle at the taxpayers' expense.

In 2007, Hawaii was the first and only state to order random drug-testing for its 13,500 public school employees, including teachers, librarians and administrative workers.

The policy failed several months later when the American Civil Liberties Union claimed it violated the educators' constitutional right to privacy and the state's education board refused to pay the $400,000 needed to conduct the substance testing.

Commissioners also approved policy that would require all prospective employees of Freestone county to submit to controlled substance testing as a condition of employment.

Other Texas counties which have instituted preemployment drug screening are Cameron, Comal, Hidalgo and Jefferson.

The policy will include fulltime, part-time, and temporary personnel.

Other revisions to the employee manual include defining part-time employees as those who work less than 40 hours a week and excluding employees and elected officials who receive a monthly vehicle allowance from collecting travel reimbursement.

Despite numerous calls to the courthouse and each of the commissioners, the court voted to leave the burn ban in effect. The Fairfield Volunteer Fire Department supports the county's decision.

During this time, fees at the Dew Transfer Station will be waived.