Sponsor Of Bill To Drug Test Welfare Recipients Busted For DUI

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Think Progress
Georgia Rep. Kip Smith, who wants to drug test all welfare recipients, was arrested Friday morning for DUI.

​Hey, if you like fat-cat politicians who want to drug test welfare recipients even as they themselves cruise around drunk as fuck in their shiny sports cars, have I found a guy for you.

A conservative Georgia Republican who wants to piss test everyone on public assistance failed a test of his own Friday morning: he showed up intoxicated after he ran a red light, according to an Atlanta police report.

State Rep. Kip Smith, 29, of Columbus, was pulled over just after leaving Hal’s Restaurant; he allegedly ran a red light, and was arrested after failing the DUI test, reports Christopher Seward at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Smith is a sponsor of Georgia House Bill 464, which would “require random drug testing” for citizens on public assistance, reports Judd Legum at Think Progress. In response to Smith’s bill, state Rep. Scott Holcomb introduced another bill last month that would require all Georgia lawmakers to be subject to random drug testing.

The traffic light had just turned red when Smith went through the intersection, according to Atlanta police Officer Z.A. Kramer, who was following the legislator’s gold 1998 Jaguar XJ8.

Kramer said he told Smith, who was alone, why he was pulled over, and the lawmaker said he didn’t realize the light was red.

Ledger-Enquirer.com
Kip Smith wants to have welfare recipients drug tested, even as he cruises around drunk as fuck in his Jaguar.

​”I observed the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Mr. Smith’s breath,” Kramer wrote in his report. “He advised me he was a state representative and gave the name ‘Kip Smith.’ “
Smith, born John Andrew Smith, first claimed he hadn’t had anything to drink, according to Kramer.
“I asked him again, and he stated he had consumed a single beer at Hal’s,” Kramer said. “I noticed also that Mr. Smith’s eyes were watery, and I asked him to exit the vehicle, which he did.”
Smith claimed he’d had the beer 45 minutes earlier, and the officer asked him to blow into a handheld intoximeter. The officer said Smith refused, saying he would prefer to go to a clinic or the hospital to get tested.
The officer told Rep. Smith that was only done after an arrest, and that Smith wasn’t under arrest, but Smith “seemed to be having a difficult time understanding what I was trying to explain to him,” the officer wrote in his report.
The officer said Smith, after much discussion, finally agreed to blow into the device. He blew a .091, which is above the legal limit of .08, according to report.
The officer said Smith then changed his story, saying he’d had a beer 15 minutes earlier rather than 45 minutes earlier as he’d claimed before. Smith, the big fan of drug testing welfare recipients, then failed both a “walk-and-turn” test and a “one-leg-stand” test, according to the officer’s report.
After failing both tests, Smith was arrested and two other officers arrived at the scene, according to the police report.
Kramer said that on the way to the city jail, a loquacious Smith “stated that what happened was his fault, and that he had been incredibly irresponsible.”
He was given two more breath tests for good measure, and Smith blew a .099 and then a .100, “well over the legal limit,” the report said.
Smith was charged with three offenses: two DUI charges, and one failure to obey a traffic control device (running the red light). 
The conservative Republican represents parts of Harris, Muscogee and Troup counties in Georgia.
“This is the first time the Speaker has heard of this deeply troubling situation involving Rep. Kip Smith,” read a statement to Ryan Young of Channel 2 Action News from House Speaker David Ralston’s office on Friday. “DUI is a very serious charge. The Speaker will look into this matter and gather the facts before offering any further comment on the situation.”



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