Welfare drug test bill passes NC Senate

[R8RFAN]

Welfare drug test bill passes NC Senate


GREENSBORO, NC — Senate Bill 594, which would require applicants for North Carolina’s WorkFirst Program to take and pass a drug test before receiving benefits, passed the state Senate on Monday.
WorkFirst allows adults to get cash benefits for themselves and their children as they look for work. More than 21,000 North Carolinians use the program, and more than 1200 of those are in Guilford County.
Steve Hays, with Guilford County’s Department of Social Services, said current law requires a licensed professional to evaluate applicants. That person can ask for a drug test if he or she feels it’s necessary.
SB 594 would require the testing up front for all potential recipients, and it would require the applicants to pay for that testing. If the applicant passes, according to the bill, the state would reimburse him or her. If he or she fails, there are no benefits and no reimbursement.
A Guilford County senator proposed an amendment requiring all legislators and their staff members to take and pass drug tests, as well, but that amendment failed.
Now that the bill has passed the Senate, it must pass the House and then be signed by Governor Pat McCrory to become a law.

http://myfox8.com/2013/04/23/welfare...ses-nc-senate/

[chefs fan in omaha]

About time

[R8RFAN]

Originally Posted by chefs fan in omaha

About time

Yup, I have to take random drug tests to do my job to get money and benefits .

[LiveSteam]

Nice

[La literatura]

I would have supported an incremental effect, which incentivizes good behavior. The unintended consequence in NC now is that the state could have a bunch of people on drugs who, because they can't get food stamps, start stealing from stores.

Drugs are an addiction, so it's important to support a drug addict in ways that would help the person wean off the addiction. If we give him no support, we might see an increase in crime.

[LiveSteam]

Originally Posted by La literatura

If we give him no support, we might see an increase in crime.

Is buying or purchasing illegal drug's for an addiction not a crime?

[La literatura]

Originally Posted by LiveSteam

Is buying or purchasing illegal drug's for an addiction not a crime?

Yes, it is. Is buying illegal drugs plus stealing a loaf of bread an increase in crime from just buying illegal drugs?

[LiveSteam]

Originally Posted by La literatura

Yes, it is. Is buying illegal drugs plus stealing a loaf of bread an increase in crime from just buying illegal drugs?

Not if its Walmart bread. But hey I love your answer,

[FD]

If this is being done, it should be across the board for any government benefits; unemployment, social security, medicare, etc.

[Hammock Parties]

THIS is how you save a little money on the federal budget.

Should be nationwide.

[mlyonsd]

I have no problem it but this made me laugh.

Originally Posted by R8ers

A Guilford County senator proposed an amendment requiring all legislators and their staff members to take and pass drug tests, as well, but that amendment failed.

[Loneiguana]

This has been tried and failed. It will fail here as well.

No Savings Are Found From Welfare Drug Tests

"The Florida civil liberties group sued the state last year, arguing that the law constituted an “unreasonable search” by the government, a violation of the Fourth Amendment. In issuing a temporary injunction in October, Judge Mary S. Scriven of Federal District Court scolded lawmakers and said the law “appears likely to be deemed a constitutional infringement.”

From July through October in Florida — the four months when testing took place before Judge Scriven’s order — 2.6 percent of the state’s cash assistance applicants failed the drug test, or 108 of 4,086, according to the figures from the state obtained by the group. The most common reason was marijuana use. An additional 40 people canceled the tests without taking them.

Because the Florida law requires that applicants who pass the test be reimbursed for the cost, an average of $30, the cost to the state was $118,140. This is more than would have been paid out in benefits to the people who failed the test, Mr. Newton said.

As a result, the testing cost the government an extra $45,780, he said."

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/18/us...ests.html?_r=0


More info written before the results, but cite earlier studies:

"Several studies, including a 1996 report from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, have found that there is no significant difference in the rate of illegal-drug use by welfare applicants and other people. Another study found that 70% of illegal-drug users between the age of 18 and 49 are employed full time.

Drug-testing laws are often touted as a way of saving tax dollars, but the facts are once again not quite as presented. Idaho recently commissioned a study of the likely financial impact of drug testing its welfare applicants. The study found that the costs were likely to exceed any money saved.

That happens to be Florida’s experience so far. A Florida television station, WFTV, reported that of the first 40 applicants tested, only two came up positive, and one of those was appealing. The state stands to save less than $240 a month if it denies benefits to the two applicants, but it had to pay $1,140 to the applicants who tested negative. The state will also have to spend considerably more to defend the policy in court."


Read more: http://ideas.time.com/2011/08/29/dru...#ixzz2RLJiEGiX


Welfare Drug testing is nothing more than Republicans lying about poor people (again) to increase the size of the government in the private lives of citizens. With the added benefit of spending more money. And maybe it is unconstitutional.

Florida Welfare Drug Testing Law Blocked By Federal Judge:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/1...n_1029332.html

[Loneiguana]

More information on the fate of the failed Florida welfare drug testing bill:

Florida Welfare Drug Testing Law Gets No Reprieve From Appeals Court
Posted: 02/26/2013 2:38 pm EST

"A federal appeals court upheld a lower court's injunction on Tuesday against Florida's effort to make welfare applicants pee in cups to prove they're not on drugs.

In a strongly-worded opinion, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit affirmed a lower court's October 2011 finding that Florida failed to demonstrate a special need for drug testing poverty-stricken parents who apply for cash benefits from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.

"The evidence in this record does not suggest that the population of TANF recipients engages in illegal drug use or that they misappropriate government funds for drugs at the expense of their own and their children's basic subsistence," the three-judge panel wrote. "The State has presented no evidence that simply because an applicant for TANF benefits is having financial problems, he is also drug addicted or prone to fraudulent and neglectful behavior.""

Read more Here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_2766479.html

So, my bet is that this bill will be put on hold similar to Georgia's bill. It won't be implemented until Florida's law is completely struck down. I'm glad we'll waste more taxpayer money bringing it to the Supreme Court..

[Bump]

now they just need to remove weed from these drug tests.

[mlyonsd]

Originally Posted by Loneiguana

More information on the fate of the failed Florida welfare drug testing bill:

Florida Welfare Drug Testing Law Gets No Reprieve From Appeals Court
Posted: 02/26/2013 2:38 pm EST

"A federal appeals court upheld a lower court's injunction on Tuesday against Florida's effort to make welfare applicants pee in cups to prove they're not on drugs.

In a strongly-worded opinion, U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit affirmed a lower court's October 2011 finding that Florida failed to demonstrate a special need for drug testing poverty-stricken parents who apply for cash benefits from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.

"The evidence in this record does not suggest that the population of TANF recipients engages in illegal drug use or that they misappropriate government funds for drugs at the expense of their own and their children's basic subsistence," the three-judge panel wrote. "The State has presented no evidence that simply because an applicant for TANF benefits is having financial problems, he is also drug addicted or prone to fraudulent and neglectful behavior.""

Read more Here:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/0...n_2766479.html

So, my bet is that this bill will be put on hold similar to Georgia's bill. It won't be implemented until Florida's law is completely struck down. I'm glad we'll waste more taxpayer money bringing it to the Supreme Court..

So I have to randomly pee into a cup for the right to pay taxes while someone else shouldn't be forced to do the same thing to receive free taxpayer money.

Brilliant ****ing plan.