Texas Passes Drug Testing for Unemployment but not Welfare

Texas has passed legislation requiring drug testing for unemployment benefits. The Texas Senate also passed a bill that would require drug testing for people getting cash benefits from the State for things like welfare, but the leadership of Texas Speaker Joe Straus allowed that bill to be killed in the House before it could even be voted on.

the following article is from Caroline May at the Daily Caller:

The Texas State Legislature approved a bill that would require workers who lose their job to pass a drug screening in order to receive unemployment benefits Saturday, according to news reports.

Under the legislation, which is now awaiting the signature of Gov. Rick Perry, unemployed persons applying for benefits will need to fill out a questionnaire and, if their answers are found to be suspicious, will be required to take a drug test.

Those who pass would be eligible for benefits, while those who fail would not. But if an individual fails the drug test, they have an opportunity to retake the drug test at a later date.

Perry has been a supporter of the proposal. In November, he joined with the sponsor of the legislation, Republican state Sen. Tommy Williams, to also call for drug testing for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) applicants.

“Texas taxpayers will not subsidize or tolerate illegal drug abuse. Every dollar that goes to someone who uses it inappropriately is a dollar that can’t go to a Texan who needs it for housing, child care or medicine,” Perry said.

“Being on drugs makes it much harder to begin the journey to independence, which only assures individuals remain stuck in the terrible cycle of drug abuse and poverty,” he added.

A bill from Republican state Sen. Jane Nelson to require drug testing for TANF failed in the State House earlier in the week, The Texas Tribune reported.

Read more of the Daily Caller article here: http://dailycaller.com/2013/05/26/texas-state-legislature-approves-drug-tests-for-unemployment-benefits/

Texas Senate Approves Drug Testing for Welfare

from KFDM News: http://www.kfdm.com/shared/news/top-stories/stories/kfdm_vid_4423.shtml

By JIM VERTUNO
Associated Press

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- The Texas Senate has passed a bill to drug test some welfare applicants and cut off drug users from receiving money.

The bill by Sen. Jane Nelson, a Flower Mound Republican, covers adults applying to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, which provides poor people with money for food, clothing, housing and other basic needs.

The bill passed Wednesday temporarily cuts off benefits to drug users, with a permanent ban after three failed drug tests. Money would still go to an applicant's minor children through a third party.

The program spends about $90 million on 100,000 Texans every year. Nelson says taxpayer money should not be used to support a drug habit.

The bill now goes to the House for consideration.Senate approves drug testing for welfare