HAMILTON, Bermuda (CMC) — A parliamentary joint select committee report has recommended random drug testing be introduced for Bermuda’s legislators with repeat offenders facing suspension and public disclosure.

If the move gets the green light at least 15 legislators will be tested every quarter. Bermuda has 36 MPs and 11 senators.

“As members of either the House of Assembly or the Senate, legislators are guardians of public morality and the rule of law under our constitution. Any engagement by them in illicit drug taking not only constitutes a breach of the trust and authority conferred on them by the community, but calls into question their ability to uphold the principles of public morality and the rule of law and to lead by example. It is, therefore, a matter of policy that no member of the legislature should be involved in the consumption of illegal drugs,” the report noted.

The joint select committee said a random method of testing should be used to ensure “fairness and impartiality” and that new rules should be included either in the rules for the House and Senate or through legislation.

The committee also recommended that hair testing for drugs should be used as it is the “least invasive” test available, and also impossible to cheat because hair specimens cannot be adulterated or substituted. It added that, for reasons of confidentiality, a private firm, Benedict Associates, should manage the programme.

“This company has a successful track record in managing random drug testing programmes for businesses in Bermuda and incorporates the ancillary programmes that may be necessary,” the report stated.

It also recommended that Speaker of the House Andy Horton should sign up “an appropriate body” to make a presentation on drugs and their usage to MPs before a new policy on testing is introduced.

“Such a presentation will provide members of the legislature with information about the dangers of the drugs that are to be tested for and how indulgence in the various substances can sully their professional integrity and public morality,” the report stated.