Florida Governor Rick Scott Abandons Efforts To Require Drug Tests For Welfare Recipients

Passing up a Tuesday deadline to file an appeal to the Supreme Court, Florida Governor Rick Scott (R) has abandoned his efforts to require mandatory drug tests for welfare recipients. On Wednesday, the Associated Press confirmed, through Scott’s spokeswoman, Jackie Schutz that the Governor had decided not to appeal a federal judge’s ruling that the drug testing was unconstitutional.

In October 2011, Federal Judge Mary Scriven blocked implementation of the law, arguing that it violated the U.S. Constitution’s ban on unreasonable searches and seizures. Scriven’s ruling was upheld by the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in December 2014. In 2003, a similar law, in the state of Michigan, was struck down as unconstitutional.

The Florida law was in effect for four months. While it was in place, only 2.6 percent of welfare applicants failed the drug test.  Nearly half of that tiny fraction tested positive only for marijuana. The law was overturned by the courts, in part, because there was no evidence presented to show that drug use was pervasive enough among Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients, to justify the invasion of privacy sought by Governor Scott and other supporters of the testing.

A separate law, enacted by executive order, which would require random drug testing for state workers, was also struck down by the 11th Circuit Court, although they did allow for testing some workers in “highly sensitive” positions.

American Civil Liberties Union of Florida Executive Director Howard Simon expressed relief that the efforts to reinstate the law were stymied, stating:

After nearly four years of litigation, this ugly attack on poor Floridians has finally come to an end. This law was always about scoring political points on the backs of Florida’s poor and treating them like suspected criminals without suspicion or evidence.

Rick Scott’s plan to submit welfare recipients to drug tests was never about public safety or saving taxpayer dollars. It was an effort to stigmatize Florida’s poor by subjecting them to intrusive drug testing before they could be eligible for assistance. Yet with only 1 out of every 40 TANF recipients testing positive for drugs, and many of them only testing positive for marijuana, the law backfired. The courts found no reason to uphold the measure. Furthermore, the percentages of welfare applicants who tested positive was so low, that it pointed out that the law was completely unnecessary.

Having lost the willpower to fight the case all the way to the Supreme Court, Governor Rick Scott backed down and decided to give up the fight to drug test TANF recipients in Florida. It was a mean-spirited fight against Florida’s poor, that should never have been waged in the first place.

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Keith Brekhus

Keith Brekhus is a progressive American who currently resides in Red Lodge, Montana. He is co-host for the Liberal Fix radio show. He holds a Master's Degree in Sociology from the University of Missouri. In 2002, he ran for Congress as a Green Party candidate in the state of Missouri. In 2014, he worked as a field organizer for Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick's successful re-election bid in Arizona's 1st Congressional District. He can be followed on Twitter @keithbrekhus or on Facebook.

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