Title:
Fla.: Ask your senator to oppose offensive drug testing bill
Message:
Yesterday, the Florida House passed
a bill, H 353, which would require new applicants for temporary welfare
assistance funded by the TANF Program to undergo mandatory and suspicionless drug
tests. The bill would also require the applicant to pay for his or her own required
drug test! Please
email your senator and ask him or her to oppose this mean-spirited proposal.
On top of forcing the cost of the test on those less able to
afford it, S 556,
the companion bill currently pending in the Florida Senate, would bar new
applicants from receiving cash benefits for one year should they fail a drug
test. If applicants twice fail a test, they are banned for three years.
Children of banned applicants would be forced to find another adult who could
pass the drug test to be their payee! Let
your senator know you oppose this unfair and unreasonable bill.
To date, the only state to pass suspicionless drug testing is
Michigan. A federal appeals court struck down Michigan’s law in 2002 for being
a constitutional violation of individuals' right to privacy and their Fourth
Amendment protection against warrantless searches. Ask
your senator to oppose this unconstitutional and degrading bill.
