Bill Mandates Drug Screening

[User]

Legislation approved on a party-line vote by a House committee Tuesday placed a target on the back of Kansans who depend on state public assistance and engage in illegal drug use.

The state should no longer ignore people who view cash assistance from the state as a subsidy for the purchase of marijuana and other illegal substances, said Rep. Brenda Landwehr, a Wichita Republican and chairwoman of the House Health and Human Services Committee.

“We have a fiduciary duty to taxpayers,” she said. “I’ve been in favor of this legislation.”

The GOP-led committee amended House Bill 2275 to attach drug testing to people involved in four programs providing cash assistance and operated by Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services would be subjected to random drug screening. The testing mandate would cover about 14,000 people in the Temporary Assistance for Families, General Assistance, Child Care Assistance and Grandparents as Caregivers Assistance programs.

“I don’t think it would work well,” said Wichita Rep. Geraldine Flaharty, who joined with other Democrats on the committee to oppose the bill.

SRS Secretary Don Jordan, who endorsed the reform, said about one-third of participants in the state programs would be tested annually. He expects 3 percent to 8 percent to fail drug tests, and the majority of those positive readings would be for marijuana.

Anyone caught consuming an illegal drug would be referred to an education or treatment program, Jordan said. Failure to complete the program would result in termination of public assistance. People who finish the required program would be tested periodically. A second positive test would cut off public assistance.

Rep. Scott Schwab, R-Olathe, said the bill properly offered Kansans an opportunity to quit using illegal drugs before removed from public assistance rolls.

Jordan said SRS would give people advance warning of an upcoming test, perhaps as much as seven days notice. SRS will need to write regulations for managing the program, grapple with potential legal objections to the mandate and identify a series of clinics for people to deliver samples for testing. He said transportation issues could arise for some people on cash assistance.

“You can’t expect them to drive 150 miles to take a drug test,” he said. Amendments to the bill sponsored by Rep. Kasha Kelley, R-Arkansas City, deleted a testing requirement for alcohol and exempted from review people enrolled in federally financed programs offering food and medical aid.

In addition, a provision of Kelley’s bill that would finance SRS testing with proceeds from drug seizures was dropped.

The bill was amended by the committee to delay implementation until July 2010, and the Legislature would have to allocate $800,000 annually to pay for the testing program.

Rep. Jim Ward, D-Wichita, said the state would be better served by abandoning Kelley’s bill and devoting that money to providing health care to uninsured children.


News Hawk: User: http://www.420magazine.com/
Source: cjonline.com
Author: Tim Carpenter
Copyright: 2009 Topeka Capitol Journal
Contact: timothy.carpenter@cjonline.com
Website: Bill mandates drug screening | CJOnline.com

[Weed420]

This is just the way they try to maintain control. Try to get people suckered into little programs that look on the surface like they would be good for the public welfare and then in a couple years they dropped the hammer. All drug testing should be stopped.

[greenmonkey]

if not a bad idea if there use to search for harder drugs.

[Racefan]

If they give 7 day warnings then the only drug they are really looking for is cannabis. All others can be out of the system within 7 days. That's discrimination IMO.

[Green Stink]

If they give 7 day warnings then the only drug they are really looking for is cannabis.

No, they are looking for the hard cores that can't stop. Pot smokers could flush themselves in 7 dyas if they stopped...IF THEY STOPPED! Just like jukies they can't stop for the 3 days you need to in order to get clean. You are mostly sane, so you won't believe, but I was a junkie once, sometimes you just can't quit, even for 3 days

[l8tnightskunk]

ok so i was wondering if and when MJ is legalized what are they gonna do about drug tests like are they gonna not look for MJ or just not have any at all?

[Weed420]

Virtually all drug testing should be stopped for the simple reason its unconstitutional.
If a business owner has reasonable suscpicion that an employee is under the influence of a drug at work then he should be able to order a drug test. Then the employee can have the choice of either taking the test or quitting. No pre-employements, no randoms. There has to be reasonable cause.

[l8tnightskunk]

True because those randoms can be a pain in the ass

[Weed420]

They're still easy to beat but it forces you to be a crook. Sends the wrong message to people that you have to be a crook to stay employed these days.

[l8tnightskunk]

I like your thinking Weed420 +rep