Florida Legislators Want to Waste a Bunch of Money Drug-Testing Welfare Recipients
The stereotype of the drugged-out welfare queen is one of Republican legislators' favorite tropes. There's nothing a GOP-controlled government body loves more than raging about poor people taking government handouts and then using that cash to get high and avoid work all day. And, understandably, that would be a very bad thing to do.
There's just one small problem: Research overwhelmingly suggests that only a minuscule percentage of welfare recipients abuse drugs and that state drug-testing programs are a huge waste of taxpayer money. Worse, Florida already blew millions in Gov. Rick Scott's first term on legal battles over drug-testing rules that the courts eventually threw out.
That hasn't stopped a father-and-son pair of state Republicans from trying to pass legislation to force some Floridians on state assistance to pee in cups. Sen. Jack Latvala and his son, Rep. Chris Latvala, have introduced matching welfare drug-testing bills.
The Latvalas' bills would be more narrowly tailored than some welfare drug programs, requiring drug tests for anyone with a "documented history of multiple arrests" for drug use or possession in the past decade or anyone with previous felony convictions.
Read more: http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/florida-legislators-want-to-waste-a-bunch-of-money-drug-testing-welfare-recipients-9181603
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