New York drug testing lab to relocate

The New York Senate and General Assembly on Monday approved a bill that will shift the state's drug-testing laboratory from Cornell University to the State University at Morrisville.

Cornell has conducted drug testing on behalf of the state for approximately 40 years. Late last year, however, the university said that it could not continue to operate the laboratory unless the state provided $9 million to the facility for renovations. The State University at Morrisville, which has a large equine sciences department, then volunteered to run the program, which conducts approximately 100,000 tests a year.

Dr. George Maylin, the longtime director of the Cornell laboratory, will also oversee the new lab. Cornell's contract with the state expires on April 1.