Thread: 36 States Mulling Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients

36 States Mulling Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients

By Tara Dodrill | Yahoo! Contributor Network – 4 mins 36 secs ago...

Multiple states and pending federal legislation may soon change the nature of America's government entitlement programs. Proposed laws in nearly 36 states and U.S. Senator David Vitter's Drug Free Families Act would mandate drug testing for welfare recipients and participants in other taxpayer funded social services programs. Florida passed a similar law last month, but testing is temporarily halted due to a lawsuit alleging Fourth Amendment violations of unreasonable search and seizure.

Drug Free Families Act

Senate Bill 83 seeks to amend Social Security Act Title IV to include a drug testing requirement for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program participants. If the federal law is passed, pending legislation in a growing number of states will no longer be necessary. The law would require any state offering financial assistance to adult recipients for illegal drug use. Entitlement program assistance will be denied if an individual tests positive or is convicted of a drug-related crime. Aid cannot be restored until a drug treatment program is completed and the potential recipient tests negative for drugs during a 6-month period after treatment.

State Drug Testing Legislation

Florida Governor Rick Scott campaigned on the issue of drug testing for welfare and signed a bill initiating the program into law in late October. Testing began several weeks ago but ended when a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) temporarily ended the practice. Language contained in the executive order mirrors that in the proposed federal legislation. Florida's law also includes mandatory drug testing of all state employees. A final ruling has not been issued in the lawsuit, which cites Fourth Amendment concerns, but is expected by the end of the year. Additional states with pending or preliminary welfare drug testing measures include Louisiana, Oklahoma, Alabama, Ohio, Missouri, Arizona and Indiana.

Michigan Welfare Drug Testing Precedent

Michigan attempted to implement a mandatory welfare drug testing program in 2000. The law was opposed by the American Civil Liberties Union all the way to the Supreme Court. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wrote the majority decision in the case. Ginsburg stated that drug testing was an act of unreasonable search and seizure and violated Fourth Amendment protections. She further stated the state can only impose drug tests in cases where public safety is at risk.

The precedent set in the nearly decade old Michigan case is being swung by the ACLU like a heavy club in the pending Florida case. Defense attorneys representing the single father who filed an invasion of privacy complaint point to Gingburg's comments as a reason to terminate drug testing of TANF recipients in Florida. A provision in the law allows the state to share positive test results with law enforcement and a drug abuse hotline.

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