House Panel Approves Suspicion-Based Drug Testing for Welfare Recipients

The House Committee on Families, Seniors, and Human Services moved measures this week. SB 275 and HB 4118, which if passed, will establish a pilot program within the Department of Human Services that will allow for suspicion-based drug testing, based on a questionnaire, as a condition for receiving Family Independence Program benefits. All Democrats on the House Families, Children and Seniors Committee opposed the measure.

The bills allow recipients to continue receiving benefits after their first positive test for a controlled substance, so long as they attend a drug treatment program approved by the Department of Community Health. A second positive test would render the recipient ineligible for future benefits. The bills further define a controlled substance, while allowing for the presence of a substance so long as the individual possesses a prescription. This includes medical marijuana patients.

Edward Hoort, Director of the Center for Civil Justice, opposed the bill, telling the committee that the money spent administering drug tests would be better spent on drug treatment centers around the state. He noted states with similar programs have found few violators of the system, arguing that poor individuals do not have the money for drugs. Jane Zehnder-Merrell, Kids Count Director at the Michigan League for Public Policy, also spoke in opposition to the bill. She said substance abuse issues often involve multiple relapses, and that the second chance provision in the bill flies in the face of medical knowledge. She also argued that, like in other states, the bill will lead to more money being spent than saved.

State Representative Marcia Hovey-Wright (D-Muskegon) offered an amendment that would allow for the eldest child of the family to receive benefits in the event that their parent or guardian was rendered ineligible. The amendment was not adopted. State Representative Robert Kosowski (D-Westland) said he would support the bill if all state employees would also take a drug test. State Representative Kenneth Kurtz (R-Coldwater), Committee Chair, said he would take a drug test, but that the provision did not belong in SB 275.

posted by PAA Online , Friday, September 12, 2014 12:59 PM
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