By Dan Modlin
Bowling Green, KY – Stating that the law could violate the Constitution's Fourth Amendment ban on illegal search and seizure, Judge Mary Scriven temporarily blocked Florida's new requirement that welfare applicants need to be drug tested before they can receive benefits. The American Civil Liberties Union had sued the state of Florida over the issue in September.
Florida's Governor, Rick Scott, had signed the bill into law in May, saying that it could help to ensure that taxpayer dollars didn't go to those who use drugs illegally.
In Kentucky, State Representative Lonnie Napier introduced legislation earlier this year that would have required drug testing for food stamp and Medicaid recipients.
Similar legislation is expected to come before the General Assembly again in 2012.