Michigan May Drug Test Welfare Recipeints

Many businesses require employees to pass a drug test as a condition of employment. Now a Michigan legislator has proposed that welfare recipients test clean in order to receive benefits.

The Associated Press reports that Representative Jeff Harrington (R) of Utica has introduced a bill that will require those who are assisted by Michigan's Family Independence Agency to pass a drug screening in order to continue receiving benefits.

36 US states are considering similar bills, but Florida is the only US state that has legislated welfare recipients to test clean to receive benefits. In October, a Florida judge blocked the order, claiming that it may violate the Constitution's ban on unreasonable search and seizure.

Michigan implemented a program similar to this in 1999, but it lasted only five weeks before a judge banned the practice, which was eventually ruled unconstitutional.