Fla. Gov. Scott signs welfare drug testing bill

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Welfare applicants will have to undergo drug testing under a bill Gov. Rick Scott signed.

Scott signed the bill Tuesday in Panama City along with another measure that bans the designer drug MDPV or "bath salts."

The drug testing bill was a priority for Scott. It will require anyone applying for temporary government assistance to pass the test before receiving benefits.

Applicants will have to pay for the tests themselves and will be reimbursed if they pass.

The law is expected to be quickly challenged. A similar Michigan law passed in 1999 that required random drug testing of Welfare recipients lasted five weeks in 1999 before it was stopped by a judge. An appeals court ruled it unconstitutional after a four-year legal battle.

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