State Rep.

Kathy Cox of Peachtree City has aimed her latest legislative effort at

those who sell "clean" urine in order to defraud drug testers.

House Bill

20 would amend the laws against defrauding drug and alcohol screening

tests to provide for up to $10,000 in fines and five years in jail for

selling one's urine for that purpose.

"According

to current state statute, it's not illegal to sell your urine to use for

someone wanting to defraud a drug test," said Cox.

It may seem

funny that no one has thought of such a bill before, but Cox said it's

a relatively new area of law. "We didn't have this problem 20 years

ago," she said.

When you drive

down the road and see posters on telephone poles giving phone numbers

where people can call and "pass any drug test," the people involved

are currently engaged in a legal business, though it's illegal for you

to use the urine for that purpose, she said.

Modeled after

a similar statute in South Carolina, the bill would not threaten legitimate

uses of urine for medical research or other purposes, she added.

In other matters

before the state General Assembly, Cox said she has been studying teen

driving problems for about two years in response to constituent concerns.

A bill currently

in the state Senate would require 40 hours of supervised driving for a

driver's license, and would limit the numbers and ages of passengers during

a teen's first year with a license. It also would require an on-the road

test.

Cox said she

applauds the idea of an on-the-road test, but she isn't sure having teens

taught by their parents is enough. "We've had a lot of bad adult

drivers teaching their kids to drive," she said. "I want to

encourage driver training, though there are probably not enough places

available to mandate it."

She said she

also would encourage employers to provide driver education for their employees.

Cox, a teacher

at Sandy Creek High School, is cautiously optimistic concerning plans

in the Legislature for more education reforms, but she's waiting for more

specifics.

"I've

not seen specifics of Gov. Barnes' proposals yet," she said, adding

that she is encouraged by talk of reduced class sizes and state-paid paraprofessionals

for kindergarten.

A proposed

4.5 percent pay hike also will be useful, she said, but added that she

would like to see more long-term study on how teachers are paid. "I

would like to see us take a really hard look at how we pay teachers, reward

teachers and advance them so that they stay in the classroom and be able

to earn a professional salary as they gain experience," Cox said.

"Right

now, those who want to make a professional salary have to leave the classroom

and go into administration or something," she added.

More classroom

money also sounds good, she said, "but I can't get any word on where

this money will go." She fears counties like Fayette will be shortchanged

in favor of counties that have neglected class size in the past.