‘Douche du Jour’: Georgia State Rep. Kip Smith, Republican Sponsor of Bill Requiring Drug Testing of Welfare Recipients, Arrested for DUI

A Republican state lawmaker from Georgia who sponsored a bill that would require drug testing of welfare recipients has been arrested for drunk driving.

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 29-year-old Kip Smith, a Republican state legislator representing parts of Harris, Muscogee and Troup counties, was pulled over early Friday morning in Atlanta’s Buckhead neighborhood after allegedly running a red light in his Jaguar.

“I observed the odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from Mr. Smith’s breath,” arresting officer Z.A. Kramer wrote in his report. “He advised me he was a state representative and gave the name ‘Kip Smith.’”

According to Kramer, Smith first said that he hadn’t been drinking. He then changed  his story and said he’d drank one beer 45 minutes earlier.

“I asked him again, and he stated he had consumed a single beer,” Kramer wrote.  ”I noticed also that Mr. Smith’s eyes were watery, and I asked him to exit the vehicle, which he did.”

Rep. Smith first refused a breath alcohol test but he eventually consented and blew a .091, which is above the state legal limit of .08. The lawmaker was placed under arrest and allegedly “stated that what had happened was his fault and that he had been incredibly irresponsible.”

Smith was charged with two counts of driving while under the influence and one count of failure to obey a traffic control device. He was released on bond.

A lawmaker being arrested for drunk driving isn’t exactly shocking news, except for the fact that this particular lawmaker sponsored a bill that would mandate drug testing of welfare recipients. According to Addicting Info, Smith (amusingly referred to as “Drunky McHypocrite”) Rep. Smith was the sponsor of HB 464, a measure that would “require random drug testing” of Georgians receiving public assistance. A similar measure passed in Florida, where it turns out that only 2% of welfare recipients tested positive for drugs.

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