BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - A controversial proposal to randomly
drug test welfare recipients has been rejected by a Senate
committee.
It was the second Senate committee stop for the House-passed
bill, sponsored by Metairie Republican Rep. John LaBruzzo. The
measure narrowly made it out of a Senate judiciary committee last
week, but was then steered to the Senate Finance Committee in a
likely attempt to kill the bill.
The bill would have require drug testing of 20 percent of those
receiving cash assistance from the state. Those who fail the test
would have the choice between entering into a treatment program or
losing their benefits.
Critics of the bill said that testing without suspicion
constitutes an unreasonable search. A federal appeals court had
ruled a similar Michigan law unconstitutional.
After the hearing, LaBruzzo vowed to bring the legislation back
next year.


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