Compassionate Conservatism: Making the Unemployed Pay to Be Drug Tested

Draconian potential law of the day: Florida Sen. Mike Bennett has the bizarre idea to randomly drug test people collecting unemployment. SB 2062 will create a "Drug Deterrence Program within the Agency for Workforce Innovation." My question is who is going to pay for the drug testing. Many companies don't drug test because it's expensive. People on probation pay for their drug testing through money they pay to county correctional systems. An estimated 800,000 people are unemployed. The cost of drug testing will be deducted from unemployment checks. Can you feel the compassioniate conservatism?

The bill requred 10 percent of unemployment recipients be drug tested. That translates into 80,000 people. No money will be appropriated for drug rehabilitation to people that fail drug testing. Bennett isn't interested in rehabilitation.

Text of SB 2062.

(a) The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall implement aprogram no later than October 1, 2009, of drug testing, on a random basis:
1. Ten percent of individuals who make a claim for benefits; and
2. Ten percent of individuals who are receiving benefits.
(b) In creating and implementing the program, the agency shall:
1. Develop a procedure for random selection of individuals for testing and shall ensure that the testing occurs on a statewide basis and reasonably correlates to the population distribution in the state;
2. Make a determination of eligibility under s.443.101(1)(d) before an applicant is selected for drug testing;
3. Provide notice of the potential for drug testing to individuals claiming and receiving benefits; and
4. Require an individual to be tested to sign an acknowledgement that he or she has received notice of the agency's drug testing policy and that he or she has a right to refuse to take the drug test;
(5) TESTING; USE OF RESULTS.—
(a) An individual is disqualified from receiving or continuing to receive benefits upon:
1. Refusing to submit to testing under this section; or
2. Upon testing positive for drugs as a result of a test under this section.
(b) If the individual fails the drug test required under this section, the individual is not entitled to unemployment benefits for up to 52 weeks, under rules adopted by the agency, and until he or she has earned income of at least 17 times his or her weekly benefit amount.
(c) The agency shall provide any individual who tests positive with information on drug treatment programs that may be available in the area in which he or she resides; however, the agency or the state is not responsible for providing or paying for drug treatment as part of the testing conducted under this section.

"I guarantee people are supporting their drug habits on your unemployment," Bennett told the Brandon Herald. Any 10 percent of the American population will produce people using drugs. Bennett is testing 80,000 people. No one will be surprised to find drug users. Bennett takes the classic conservative view that poverty and unemployment are character flaws. Bennett views these unemployment recipients as lazy and worthy of punishment. Nevermind that his party's economic ignorance helped create Florida's flawed tax system and a busted real estate market. It never occurred to Bennett that his economics opportunities would be different if he was born a black child in Sudan.

“People are hurting and people are losing their jobs, and in the midst of that situation, this would treat everyone facing a job crisis and seeking unemployment compensation as a potential drug abuser,” said Courtenay Strickland, ACLU director of public policy.

Bennett responds to this sort of criticism that (in his word) he is "picking on the junkies." Bennett's sensitivity is underwhelming.