A federal appeals court has rebuked Florida over drug-testing applicants for public benefits, an important victory for civil liberty and the dignity of poor people. But laws like this one remain hugely popular with the public and serve the interests of Republican ideologues and politicians, so this is not a matter that will go away any time soon.
On December 2, 2014, the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals struck down Florida's law requiring applicants for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families to submit to drug-testing even without any suspicion of illegal drug use. Circuit Judge Stanley Marcus wrote for the three-judge panel.
By virtue of poverty, TANF applicants are not stripped of their legitimate expectations of privacy. If we are to give meaning to the Fourth Amendment's prohibition on blanket government searches, we must — and we do — hold that [the law] crosses the constitutional line.
The decision upheld a ruling in December 2013 by U.S. District Judge Mary Scriven in Tampa to permanently block enforcement of the July 2011 law passed by the Republican-controlled legislature and signed by Republican Gov. Rick Scott. The law required persons seeking benefits to pay upfront a $25-45 fee for urine testing, which was refundable if the test was negative. About one in 40 tests conducted while the law was being enforced came back positive. In the end, it turned out to have cost Florida more to run the program that it would have saved in cash benefits denied due to positive tests. At an average of $30, the cost to the state was $118,140, considerably more than would have been paid in benefits to the people who failed the test, according to the New York Times article.
Court Strikes Down Drug Tests for Florida Welfare Applicants
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