• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
MENUMENU
MENUMENU
  • Home
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • FlaglerLive Board of Directors
    • Comment Policy
    • Mission Statement
    • Our Values
  • Live Calendar
  • Submit Obituary
  • Submit an Event
  • Support FlaglerLive
  • Advertise on FlaglerLive (386) 503-3808
  • Search Results

FlaglerLive

No Bull, no Fluff, No Smudges

MENUMENU
  • Flagler
    • Flagler County Commission
    • Beverly Beach
    • Economic Development Council
    • Flagler History
    • Mondex/Daytona North
    • The Hammock
    • Tourist Development Council
  • Palm Coast
    • Palm Coast City Council
    • Palm Coast Crime
  • Bunnell
    • Bunnell City Commission
    • Bunnell Crime
  • Flagler Beach
    • Flagler Beach City Commission
    • Flagler Beach Crime
  • Cops/Courts
    • Circuit & County Court
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • Federal Courts
    • Flagler 911
    • Fire House
    • Flagler County Sheriff
    • Flagler Jail Bookings
    • Traffic Accidents
  • Rights & Liberties
    • Fourth Amendment
    • First Amendment
    • Privacy
    • Second Amendment
    • Seventh Amendment
    • Sixth Amendment
    • Sunshine Law
    • Third Amendment
    • Religion & Beliefs
    • Human Rights
    • Immigration
    • Labor Rights
    • 14th Amendment
    • Civil Rights
  • Schools
    • Adult Education
    • Belle Terre Elementary
    • Buddy Taylor Middle
    • Bunnell Elementary
    • Charter Schools
    • Daytona State College
    • Flagler County School Board
    • Flagler Palm Coast High School
    • Higher Education
    • Imagine School
    • Indian Trails Middle
    • Matanzas High School
    • Old Kings Elementary
    • Rymfire Elementary
    • Stetson University
    • Wadsworth Elementary
    • University of Florida/Florida State
  • Economy
    • Jobs & Unemployment
    • Business & Economy
    • Development & Sprawl
    • Leisure & Tourism
    • Local Business
    • Local Media
    • Real Estate & Development
    • Taxes
  • Commentary
    • The Conversation
    • Pierre Tristam
    • Diane Roberts
    • Guest Columns
    • Byblos
    • Editor's Blog
  • Culture
    • African American Cultural Society
    • Arts in Palm Coast & Flagler
    • Books
    • City Repertory Theatre
    • Flagler Auditorium
    • Flagler Playhouse
    • Flagler Youth Orchestra
    • Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra
    • Palm Coast Arts Foundation
    • Special Events
  • Elections 2022
    • Amendments and Referendums
    • Presidential Election
    • Campaign Finance
    • City Elections
    • Congressional
    • Constitutionals
    • Courts
    • Governor
    • Polls
    • Voting Rights
  • Florida
    • Federal Politics
    • Florida History
    • Florida Legislature
    • Florida Legislature
    • Ron DeSantis
  • Health & Society
    • Flagler County Health Department
    • Ask the Doctor Column
    • Health Care
    • Health Care Business
    • Covid-19
    • Children and Families
    • Medicaid and Medicare
    • Mental Health
    • Poverty
    • Violence
  • All Else
    • Daily Briefing
    • Americana
    • Obituaries
    • News Briefs
    • Weather and Climate
    • Wildlife

After Spending $300,000 in State Funds, Gov. Scott Quits Fight to Drug-Test Welfare Recipients

March 6, 2015 | FlaglerLive | 8 Comments

Rick Scott gives up on drug-testing.
Rick Scott gives up on drug-testing.

After spending at least $300,000 of taxpayer money on legal expenses, Gov. Rick Scott is abandoning his fight to force welfare applicants to undergo mandatory drug tests.


A federal appeals court ruled in December that the state’s mandatory, suspicion-less drug testing of applicants in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, program is an unconstitutional violation of Fourth Amendment protections against unreasonable searches and seizures by the government.

Tuesday was the deadline for Scott to ask for an “en banc” review from the full 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld previous court decisions that the Florida law is unconstitutional, or to file an appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court.

“We chose not to appeal this case. The governor is continuing to protect Florida children any way he can and create an environment where families can get jobs so they are able to pursue their dreams in safe communities,” Scott spokeswoman Jackie Schutz said in a statement Wednesday evening.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which filed the challenge on behalf of single father and Navy veteran Luis Lebron shortly after the law went into effect in 2011, hailed the end of the drawn-out legal battle over the drug tests, an issue Scott campaigned on during his first bid for governor in 2010.

“This law was always about scoring political points on the backs of Florida’s poor and treating them like suspected criminals without suspicion or evidence. It not only offended the dignity of families who are struggling to get by and need temporary assistance, but it also offended constitutional protections against invasive government searches,” ACLU of Florida Executive Director Howard Simon said in a statement.

In December’s 54-page opinion authored by appeals-court Judge Stanley Marcus, the Atlanta-based court rejected Scott’s arguments that the drug tests are needed to ensure that children in poor families grow up in drug-free homes. The state also argued that TANF applicants would give up privacy rights by consenting to urine tests to be eligible for benefits.

The law “offends the Fourth Amendment,” Marcus wrote, and relied on the state’s own evidence showing that, during the short time that the law was in effect, fewer than 3 percent of TANF applicants tested positive for drugs.

“Of course, citizens do not abandon all hope of privacy by applying for government assistance. By virtue of poverty, TANF applicants are not stripped of their legitimate expectations of privacy — they are not employees in dangerous vocations or students subject to the (power) of the state,” Marcus wrote.

Scott, however, has not totally abandoned a separate effort to drug test state workers.

The governor was forced to capitulate on an executive order requiring all state employees to submit to urine tests. The federal appeals court ruled last year that Scott could not constitutionally justify drug testing for all types of state workers without a reason. Scott and lawyers for the ACLU of Florida, which represents the state workers’ union, haggled for months before reaching consensus on classes of jobs that could be eligible for the tests. The U.S. Supreme Court this summer refused to hear an appeal in the case, which is pending before a federal judge in Miami.

–Dara Kam, News Service of Florida

Print Friendly, PDF & Email
You and your neighbors collectively read our articles about 25,000 times each day (that's not a typo) with up to 65,000 daily reads during emergencies like hurricanes. Flagler County residents rely on FlaglerLive for essential, bold and analytical journalism that cannot be found anywhere else. But we depend on your support. Please join our December fund drive! If you donate the cost of a scoop of ice cream, you will be helping us continue to provide comprehensive local news and honest, serious journalism for our community. If you can donate more or become a monthly donor, even better. Donations are tax deductible since FlaglerLive is a 501(c)(3) non-profit news organization. Donate by clicking anywhere in this box. Think of it as buying a scoop, in every sense of the term!  
All donors' identities are kept confidential and anonymous.
   

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Obama 2015 says

    March 6, 2015 at 5:07 pm

    His wife must be mad.

    Reply
  2. confidential says

    March 6, 2015 at 7:03 pm

    The Governor became wealthy by swindling our Medicare System…so now he needs to refund us taxpayers back for the expense he had to defend his Machiavelic bill against the needed of our state.
    We want to see our funds back man, as you are rich!

    Reply
  3. Rick Gardner says

    March 6, 2015 at 7:11 pm

    Halleluiah finally Scott sees reality. Sorry about the loss of revenue to his wife’s drug testing company… so sad..

    Reply
  4. Footballen says

    March 6, 2015 at 9:55 pm

    He should have stood strong on that one. If you are a junky or pot head I should not have to pay to support you.

    Reply
    • John Smallberries says

      March 7, 2015 at 10:40 am

      Might want to look at the stats on how much it cost versus how many people were affected. Hint: it cost way more to test that what it “saves” through dumping people off of welfare. Likewise, a positive drug test does not mean what you think it does. If you actually do the statistics, a positive on most tests when combined with actual usage rates means that the person in question has maybe a 50-50% chance of current use.

      Reply
  5. confidential says

    March 7, 2015 at 10:54 am

    Scotty became wealthy by swindling our Medicare System…so now he needs to refund us taxpayers back for the expense he had to defend his Machiavellic bill against the needy of our state. We want our funds back, as you are rich!

    Reply
  6. Sherry Epley says

    March 7, 2015 at 12:29 pm

    What a complete waste of taxpayers’ hard earned money. . . all in an “unconstitutional” quest to deny basic assistance and stick it to the underprivileged, while lining the pockets of his wife’s drug testing company!

    Reply
    • YankeeExPat says

      March 7, 2015 at 4:52 pm

      wife’s drug testing company!………………Bingo!

      Check out InnoVida Holdings, LLC, where Jeb Bush sat on the board of directors.

      Reply
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents
  • grand living realty

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

Advertisers

  • grand living realty
  • politis matovina attorneys for justice personal injury law auto truck accidents

Recent Comments

  • Katie Berry on Flagler Sheriff’s Sgt. Breckwoldt, In Charge of Narcotics Unit, at Center of Abuse of Power Allegation
  • Be Brave, Be Kind on Flagler Sheriff’s Sgt. Breckwoldt, In Charge of Narcotics Unit, at Center of Abuse of Power Allegation
  • Deborah Coffey on Palm Coast’s Darryl Boyer, Running for Renner’s Seat, Appears on Fox & Friends to Talk Trump/DeSantis
  • Teresa on Sheriff Increases Motors Unit Staffing to Address Traffic Violations
  • denise calderwood on Palm Coast’s Darryl Boyer, Running for Renner’s Seat, Appears on Fox & Friends to Talk Trump/DeSantis
  • Joe D on He Was Convinced the School Board Was Pushing “Transgender BS.” He Was Arrested. And Emboldened.
  • No Political Affiliation on Flagler Sheriff’s Sgt. Breckwoldt, In Charge of Narcotics Unit, at Center of Abuse of Power Allegation
  • Richard on Michael Blum, F-Section Resident on Probation, Arrested in Connection With Mortar Explosion
  • Richard on Michael Blum, F-Section Resident on Probation, Arrested in Connection With Mortar Explosion
  • Pogo on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Sunday, May 28, 2023
  • Ray W. on The Daily Cartoon and Live Briefing: Saturday, May 27, 2023
  • JOE D on Palm Coast’s Darryl Boyer, Running for Renner’s Seat, Appears on Fox & Friends to Talk Trump/DeSantis
  • Geezer on Flagler Sheriff’s Sgt. Breckwoldt, In Charge of Narcotics Unit, at Center of Abuse of Power Allegation
  • Jw on Gun Groups Perpetuate Militia Myth to Keep Whatever Arms They Dream Of
  • The dude on Palm Coast Fines Waste Pro $125 For Every Recycling Bins It’s Taking Back and Threatens Litigation
  • Frank on Flagler Sheriff’s Sgt. Breckwoldt, In Charge of Narcotics Unit, at Center of Abuse of Power Allegation

Log in