(Radio Iowa) – The Iowa House and Senate have approved a bill to make it a crime to use fake urine for workplace drug and alcohol tests. Representative Brian Lohse, a Republican from Bondurant, says it’s become a pervasive problem.

Under the bill, an Iowan found to have used fake urine for a drug test would be guilty of a simple misdemeanor on the first offense — and a judge could require substance abuse screening and treatment, at the offender’s expense. Synthetic urine is being sold under brand names like U-Pass, Clean Stream and Quick Fix. Democrats in the legislature argued it would be better to outlaw the sale of these products. Senator Liz Mathis, a Democrat from Cedar Rapids, says it’s being sold online and at truck stops.

Federal data indicates more than half of American businesses randomly test employees or require prospective employees to undergo drug screening. Businesses typically test for amphetamines, cocaine, marijuana, opiates and P-C-P. The Iowa Motor Truck Association, the Iowa Association of Business and Industry and groups representing general contractors lobbied for the bill.