On January 18th, 2012, Senator David G. Argall (R-29) announced that the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare (DPW) would implement a drug testing pilot program in Schuylkill County.
Under the pilot program, DPW will randomly drug test applicants and recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and General Assistance cash assistance who have been convicted of a felony drug offense that occurred within the past five years and for applicants who are currently on probation for a felony drug offense.
Upon the announcement of the pilot program for Schuylkill County, Senator Argall stated, “People at my town hall meetings throughout the district repeatedly tell me they would like to see serious reforms to stop giving a ‘free ride’. This news is long overdue in a department that consumes 30 percent of the state budget.”
Last year, a similar bill was blocked in Florida by a federal judge due to its broad stroke approach of testing all applicants and recipients. This decision was reached because the judge questioned if the Florida law represented an invasion of privacy and if it complied with the Fourth Amendment barring unreasonable searches.
Pennsylvania is taking a far more conservative position with a plan to randomly test only those with a felony drug conviction within the past five years and those on probation for such offenses.
If the Schuylkill County pilot program proves to be cost effective, the DPW is looking at a statewide implementation that may begin as early as July 1, 2012.
What are thoughts regarding the DPW proposal? People currently on probation for felony drug offenses already face random drug testing as part of their probation, so doesn’t that make this part of the bill “double-dipping” out of tax payers wallets? Although not part of this proposed bill, shouldn’t all DPW applicants and recipients be required to submit to random drug testing or is that a gross slap at the Fourth Amendment? Please leave your thoughts in the comment section below!
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