If you are poor you are not afforded the same Constitutional Rights as someone who is wealthy. Well at least that’s true if you live in Florida. In Florida, if you want public cash assistance to support your family, you are now required to take a drug test. Florida’s House Bill 353 (“HB 353”), requires all Temporary Cash Assistance applicants to undergo drug testing, regardless of any suspicion of drug use.
No shocker here, the American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”) disagrees with HB 353 and filed a suit in Federal Court stating the law was unconstitutional. Florida Governor Rick Scott defends HB 353 with language from the Federal Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (“TANF”) statute that does not prohibit States from drug testing welfare recipients.
The ACLU takes a different stance, it says that congress cannot allow states to do something unconstitutional, and drug testing all welfare applicants is just that, unconstitutional. The ACLU’s argument is that mandatory drug testing without suspicion or cause, is tantamount to an invasion of privacy, and violates the 4th Amendment of the Constitution.
What is ironic about HB 353, is TANF was created to support needy families and, among other things, promote two parent families. However HB 353 creates an incentive for families to split, and here’s why: Say, for example, a husband and wife fall on hard times and need the state to provide temporary support for their family. Let’s also imagine the father is a drug user and therefore would not qualify for assistance. The only solution for the family is to split so the wife can successfully apply for assistance as a single parent.
HB 353 is a supposed cost saving measure, but is likely costing Florida more money. All Temporary Cash Assistance applicants are required to take a drug test, however, if the drug test is negative, Florida will reimburse the cost of the drug test. This might save the state money if more people were testing positive than negative, yet to date only about 2.5 percent of applicants have tested positive, so the state saves on average $235 a month for each of those people it doesn’t pay benefits to, yet has to reimburse the other 97.5 percent the cost of the drug test.
Interesting logic Florida.
