BATON ROUGE — Most House lawmakers from Southwest Louisiana voted for a bill Tuesday that would mandate random drug testing
for welfare recipients statewide.
The House voted 65-26, approving House
Bill 380 by Rep. Sherman Mack, R-Livingston. It would require drug
testing, starting
in January, for 20 percent of people who get cash assistance from
the Family Independence Temporary Assistance Program. The
bill heads to the Senate for consideration.
Mack said people who fail the first drug test can get their benefits back if they seek treatment and pass a second drug test
after 90 days. If they fail the second test, they can take another one in a year.
Several members of the Legislative
Black Caucus opposed the bill, saying it targets mainly low-income
residents in the state.
Rep. Pat Smith, D-Baton Rouge, who chairs the caucus, called the
measure “class warfare.” She said lawmakers should be drug
tested along with welfare recipients.
“We get a paycheck every month,” Smith said. “We are all in the same boat. We get taxpayer dollars.”
Mack countered, saying the bill is an effort to help drug users who want to work “not to remain helpless.”
“This is not about class anything,” he said.
Rep. John Bel Edwards, D-Amite, said that the measure violates the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which guards
against unreasonable search and seizure.
“Being poor is not a crime,” he said. “This (bill) is a line that is just not worth crossing.”
Several amendments were added to the bill, including one that requires welfare recipients to pay for any drug tests after
the first one. Another amendment would allow the state Department of Children and Family Services to investigate each case
where an applicant is denied FITAP benefits because of a failed drug test.
The House later voted to stop
consideration of several other amendments, including one by Rep. Regina
Barrow D-Baton Rouge,
that would require drug testing for state lawmakers. Barrow’s
announcement of the amendment prompted laughter from some lawmakers.
Voting for the bill were Reps. Mike Danahay,, D-Sulphur, Brett Geymann, R-Moss Bluff, John Guinn, R-Jennings, Bob Hensgens,
R-Abbeville, Dorothy Sue Hill, D-Dry Creek, Frank Howard, R-Many, and House Speaker Chuck Kleckley, R-Lake Charles.
Reps. James Armes, D-Leesville, and A.B. Franklin, D-Lake Charles, vote against the measure.