The ACLU, which filed the challenge on behalf of single father and Navy veteran Luis Lebron, 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.
welfare
Taxpayers’ Bill for Rick Scott’s Losing Battle to Drug-Test Welfare Recipients: $307,000 and Rising
ACLU of Florida Executive Director Howard Simon, who blamed the governor and the Legislature for the cost to taxpayers, blasted Scott for refusing to back down as the governor mulls appealing the latest decision calling his ploy unconstitutional.
Fifth Court Decision in a Row Calls Rick Scott’s Drug-Testing Scheme Illegal
The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected a Florida law pushed by Gov. Rick Scott requiring welfare applicants to submit to drug tests before they can receive benefits.
Gov. Scott Gives Up Drug-Testing Half of State’s Workers, But Still Aims Pee Cup at Rest
The governor has not conceded that forcing state employees to undergo urinalysis is unconstitutional despite lower court rulings that spurred the concessions. The U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year refused to take up the case, but it is believed Scott will again ask the high court to rule on the case if he ultimately loses in lower court proceedings.
He Won’t Give Up: Scott Taking Drug Testing of State Employees to U.S. Supreme Court
Lawyers for Scott filed a petition this week asking the Supreme Court to hear the case, after the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last year ruled against across-the-board drug testing, but various groups blasted the Scott administration for continuing to pursue the drug tests. They pointed to repeated past rulings against such drug testing.
Gov. Scott Now 0-For-4 on Drug-Testing as Federal Judge Harshly Criticizes Violation of Welfare Recipients’ Rights
In a harshly worded, 30-page opinion, the judge concluded that “there is no set of circumstances under which the warrantless, suspicionless drug testing at issue in this case could be constitutionally applied.”
NFL and MLS Snub Florida After Bill to Subsidize Dolphins and Soccer at Taxpayers’ Expense Fails
The NFL awarded the 2016 Super Bowl to the San Francisco area and the 2017 championship contest to Houston, a little more than two weeks after a bill tied to potential state funding for the Miami Dolphins and an Orlando soccer stadium died in the Florida House.
In a Reversal, Florida Won’t End Benefits To Recipients With Underliverable Addresses
The Florida Department of Children and Families on Friday scrapped a controversial change that would have halted food stamps, Medicaid and welfare benefits for people whose mail is returned to the agency as undeliverable.
Florida DCF’s Answer to Welfare Recipients’ Unforwarded Addresses: Cut Off Benefits
The Florida Department of Children and Families has approved a change that would end public-assistance benefits for people who don’t report new addresses, drawing concerns that some low-income residents could unnecessarily lose food and medical aid.
Florida GOP’s Agenda, Once Emboldened, Facing Broad-Based Backlash in Courts
Republicans’ sweeping changes to elections law, welfare drug-testing and state workers’ pension contributions have bogged down in court challenges and judges’ injunctions as Gov. Rick Scott chafes at the push-back.