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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Ind. Law - "Welfare Drug Testing Bill Withdrawn After Amended To Include Testing Lawmakers"

A story in the Huffington Post today by Arthur Delaney reports that "Rep. Jud McMillin (R-Brookville), sponsor of the original welfare drug testing bill" intends to revise the bill and put it back on the calendar. A quote:

"I've only withdrawn it temporarily," he told HuffPost, stressing he carefully crafted his original bill so that it could survive a legal challenge. Last year a federal judge, citing the Constitution's ban on unreasonable search and seizure, struck down a Florida law that required blanket drug testing of everyone who applied for welfare.

McMillin's bill would overcome constitutional problems, he said, by setting up a tiered screening scheme in which people can opt-out of random testing. Those who decline random tests would only be screened if they arouse "reasonable suspicion," either by their demeanor, by being convicted of a crime, or by missing appointments required by the welfare office.

The bill is HB 1007.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on January 28, 2012 09:54 AM
Posted to Indiana Law