HB 353

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to drug screening of potential and
3	existing beneficiaries of temporary cash assistance;
4	creating s. 414.0652, F.S.; providing legislative intent;
5	requiring the Department of Children and Family Services
6	to establish a drug-screening program; requiring consent
7	to drug screening as a condition to eligibility for or
8	receipt of temporary cash assistance; limiting screening
9	to certain persons; providing definitions; providing for
10	notice; providing terms of disqualification for temporary
11	cash assistance; requiring the department to supply
12	information concerning substance abuse treatment;
13	providing screening procedures; providing for the
14	preservation of screening and confirmatory testing
15	specimens; directing the department to submit a report to
16	the Governor and Legislature; amending s. 414.095, F.S.;
17	revising requirements for determination of eligibility for
18	temporary cash assistance to conform to changes made by
19	the act; providing an effective date.
20
21	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
22
23	Section 1.  Section 414.0652, Florida Statutes, is created
24	to read:
25	414.0652  Drug-screening program.-
26	(1)  LEGISLATIVE INTENT.-It is the intent of the
27	Legislature to create a drug-screening program within the
28	Department of Children and Family Services.
29	(2)  CREATION AND IMPLEMENTATION.-
30	(a)  The department shall establish a drug-screening
31	program that requires an individual, as a condition to
32	eligibility for or receipt of temporary cash assistance, to
33	consent to being subject to drug screening.
34	(b)  The department shall:
35	1.  Make a determination of eligibility under s. 414.095
36	before an applicant is selected for drug screening.
37	2.  Provide notice of the potential for drug screening to
38	individuals applying for or receiving temporary cash assistance.
39	3.  Require an applicant or participant to sign an
40	acknowledgment that he or she has received notice of the
41	department's drug-screening policy and that he or she has a
42	right to refuse to undergo the drug screening.
43	(c)  The department may only screen an applicant who has
44	been convicted of a drug felony within the prior 3 years and
45	shall continue to screen that individual for 3 years after the
46	date upon which the individual begins receiving temporary cash
47	assistance.
48	(d)  The program must be implemented no later than July 1,
49	2012.
50	(3)  DEFINITIONS.-As used in this section, the term:
51	(a)  "Confirmation test" or "confirmatory testing" means a
52	second analytical procedure used to identify the presence of a
53	specific drug or metabolite in a specimen. The confirmation test
54	must be different in scientific principle from that of the
55	initial drug-screening procedure and must be capable of
56	providing the requisite specificity, sensitivity, and
57	quantitative accuracy. A confirmation test may only be
58	administered if an applicant or participant tests positive for a
59	drug during an initial drug screening.
60	(b)  "Drug" means an amphetamine, a tetrahydrocannabinol,
61	oxycodone, cocaine, phencyclidine (PCP), an opiate, a
62	barbiturate, a benzodiazepine, a methamphetamine, a
63	propoxyphene, a tricyclic antidepressant, or a metabolite of any
64	of the substances listed in this paragraph.
65	(c)  "Drug screening" or "screen" means any chemical,
66	biological, or physical instrumental analysis administered by a
67	laboratory certified by the United States Department of Health
68	and Human Services or licensed by the Agency for Health Care
69	Administration for the purpose of determining the presence or
70	absence of a drug or its metabolites.
71	(d)  "Initial drug screening" or "initial screen" means a
72	sensitive, rapid, and reliable procedure to identify negative
73	and presumptive positive specimens. All initial screens shall
74	use an immunoassay procedure or an equivalent or shall use a
75	more accurate scientifically accepted method approved by the
76	United States Food and Drug Administration or the Agency for
77	Health Care Administration, as more accurate technology becomes
78	available in a cost-effective form.
79	(e)  "Nonprescription medication" means a medication that
80	is authorized pursuant to federal or state law for general
81	distribution and use without a prescription for the treatment of
82	human diseases, ailments, or injuries.
83	(f)  "Prescription medication" means a drug or medication
84	obtained pursuant to a prescription as defined in s. 893.02.
85	(g)  "Specimen" means a tissue, hair, or product of the
86	human body capable of revealing the presence of a drug or its
87	metabolites. A urine specimen shall be collected and analyzed
88	for all initial drug screens and confirmation tests under this
89	section.
90	(4)  DRUG SCREENING AND CONFIRMATORY TESTING.-
91	(a)  An individual is disqualified from receiving or
92	continuing to receive temporary cash assistance if the
93	individual:
94	1.  Refuses to submit to drug screening under this section.
95	Eligibility for temporary cash assistance is restored when the
96	individual agrees to be screened; or
97	2.  Tests positive for drugs as a result of a confirmation
98	test performed under this section.
99	(b)  If the individual fails the confirmation test required
100	under this section, the individual:
101	1.  Is not eligible to receive temporary cash assistance
102	for 3 years.
103	2.  If a parent, may choose to designate another individual
104	to receive benefits for the parent's minor child. The designated
105	individual must be an immediate family member or, if an
106	immediate family member is not available or the family member
107	declines the option, another individual, approved by the
108	department, may be designated. Approval may not be granted if
109	the designated individual has been convicted of a drug felony
110	within the prior 3 years.
111	(c)  The department shall provide any individual who tests
112	positive with information concerning substance abuse treatment
113	programs that may be available in the area in which he or she
114	resides. Neither the department nor the state is responsible for
115	providing or paying for substance abuse treatment as part of the
116	screening conducted under this section.
117	(d)  The cost of screening and confirmatory testing shall
118	be paid by the individual being screened and tested, and the
119	department shall solicit competitive bids for drug-screening and
120	confirmatory testing services to ensure the lowest possible cost
121	for administering the drug screen and confirmation test.
122	(5)  USE OF RESULTS.-
123	(a)  All specimen collection and screening and testing for
124	drugs under this section must be performed in accordance with
125	the following procedures:
126	1.  The individual to be screened or tested must provide
127	written consent to be screened or tested for drugs on a form
128	developed by the department.
129	2.  A specimen shall be collected with due regard to the
130	privacy of the individual providing the specimen and in a manner
131	reasonably calculated to prevent substitution or contamination
132	of the specimen.
133	3.  Specimen collection must be documented, and the
134	documentation procedures must include:
135	a.  Labeling of specimen containers so as to reasonably
136	preclude the likelihood of erroneous identification of drug-
137	screen or confirmation-test results.
138	b.  A form on which the individual undergoing drug
139	screening or confirmatory testing may provide any information he
140	or she considers relevant to the screen or test, including
141	identification of currently or recently used prescription or
142	nonprescription medication or other relevant medical
143	information. The form must provide notice of the most common
144	medications by brand name or common name, as applicable, as well
145	as by chemical name, which may alter or affect a drug screen or
146	confirmation test. The providing of information does not
147	preclude the administration of the drug screen or test, but must
148	be taken into account in interpreting any positive drug-screen
149	or confirmation-test result.
150	4.  Specimen collection, storage, and transportation to the
151	screening or testing site must be performed in a manner that
152	reasonably precludes contamination or adulteration of specimens
153	as specified in the department's drug-screening and
154	confirmatory-testing protocols, policies, and procedures.
155	(b)  A specimen that produces a positive screen or positive
156	test result must be preserved for a certain period of time as
157	established by the department's drug-screening and confirmatory-
158	testing protocols, policies, and procedures. The length of time
159	for the preservation of specimens shall be consistent with
160	industry standards. However, if the screened or tested
161	individual undertakes an administrative or legal challenge to
162	the drug-screen or confirmatory-test result, the specimen must
163	be preserved until the case or administrative appeal is settled.
164	(6)  REPORT.-The department shall submit a report to the
165	Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
166	House of Representatives by January 1, 2013, that includes:
167	(a)  The number of individuals screened and tested, a list
168	of the substances for which individuals were screened and
169	tested, and the results of the screening and testing.
170	(b)  The number of applicants denied temporary cash
171	assistance for failing a confirmation test and the number of
172	recipients for whom temporary cash assistance was terminated for
173	refusing to submit to a drug screen or confirmation test or
174	failing a confirmation test while receiving benefits.
175	(c)  The number of individuals who refused to be screened.
176	(d)  The number of weeks and the amount of temporary cash
177	assistance for which individuals would have been eligible if
178	they had not tested positive or refused to be screened.
179	(e)  An estimate of the costs of the drug-screening
180	program, including the average cost of individual drug screens
181	and confirmation tests and the cost of administering the
182	program.
183	Section 2.  Subsection (1) of section 414.095, Florida
184	Statutes, is amended to read:
185	414.095  Determining eligibility for temporary cash
186	assistance.-
187	(1)  ELIGIBILITY.-An applicant must meet eligibility
188	requirements of this section before receiving services or
189	temporary cash assistance under this chapter, except that an
190	applicant shall be required to register for work and engage in
191	work activities in accordance with s. 445.024, as designated by
192	the regional workforce board, and may receive support services
193	or child care assistance in conjunction with such requirement.
194	The department shall make a determination of eligibility based
195	on the criteria listed in this chapter. The department shall
196	monitor continued eligibility for temporary cash assistance
197	through periodic reviews consistent with the food assistance
198	eligibility process. Benefits shall not be denied to an
199	individual solely based on a felony drug conviction, unless the
200	conviction is for trafficking pursuant to s. 893.135. To be
201	eligible under this section, an individual convicted of a drug
202	felony must be satisfactorily meeting the requirements of the
203	temporary cash assistance program and s. 414.0652, including all
204	substance abuse treatment requirements. Within the limits
205	specified in this chapter, the state opts out of the provision
206	of Pub. L. No. 104-193, s. 115, that eliminates eligibility for
207	temporary cash assistance and food assistance for any individual
208	convicted of a controlled substance felony.
209	Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.