CS/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 for disqualification or
11	continuation of temporary cash assistance; requiring the
12	department to supply information concerning substance
13	abuse treatment; providing screening procedures; requiring
14	the individual being screened or tested to pay the cost of
15	the screening or testing; requiring approved laboratories
16	to conduct screening and testing in accordance with
17	standards established by the department; requiring
18	approved laboratories to defend results and conclusions in
19	appeal hearings; providing for the preservation of
20	screening and confirmatory testing specimens; directing
21	the department to submit a report to the Governor and
22	Legislature; authorizing the department to adopt rules;
23	amending s. 414.095, F.S.; revising requirements for
24	determination of eligibility for temporary cash assistance
25	to conform to changes made by the act; providing an
26	effective date.
27
28	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
29
30	Section 1.  Section 414.0652, Florida Statutes, is created
31	to read:
32	414.0652  Drug-screening program.-
33	(1)  LEGISLATIVE INTENT.-It is the intent of the
34	Legislature to create a drug-screening program within the
35	Department of Children and Family Services.
36	(2)  CREATION AND IMPLEMENTATION.-
37	(a)  The department shall establish a drug-screening
38	program that requires an individual, as a condition to
39	eligibility for or receipt of temporary cash assistance, to
40	consent to being subject to drug screening.
41	(b)  The department shall:
42	1.  Make a determination of eligibility under s. 414.095
43	before an applicant or recipient is selected for drug screening.
44	2.  Provide notice of the potential for drug screening to
45	individuals applying for or receiving temporary cash assistance.
46	3.  Require an applicant or recipient to sign an
47	acknowledgment that he or she has received notice of the
48	department's drug-screening policy and that he or she has a
49	right to refuse to undergo the drug screening.
50	(c)  The department may only screen an individual who has
51	been convicted of a drug felony within the prior 3 years. The
52	department shall continue to screen an eligible drug felon at
53	least annually for 3 years after the date he or she passes the
54	initial drug screening or confirmation test.
55	(3)  DEFINITIONS.-As used in this section, the term:
56	(a)  "Applicant" or "recipient" means a parent, or an
57	eligible caretaker relative, as described in s. 414.095(4), who
58	applies for or receives temporary cash assistance.
59	(b)  "Confirmation test" or "confirmatory testing" means a
60	second analytical procedure used to identify the presence of a
61	specific drug or metabolite in a specimen. The confirmation test
62	must be different in scientific principle from that of the
63	initial drug-screening procedure and must be capable of
64	providing the requisite specificity, sensitivity, and
65	quantitative accuracy. A confirmation test may only be
66	administered if an applicant or recipient tests positive for a
67	drug during an initial drug screening.
68	(c)  "Drug" means an amphetamine, a tetrahydrocannabinol,
69	oxycodone, cocaine, phencyclidine (PCP), an opiate, a
70	barbiturate, a benzodiazepine, a methamphetamine, a
71	propoxyphene, a tricyclic antidepressant, or a metabolite of any
72	of the substances listed in this paragraph.
73	(d)  "Drug screening" or "screen" means any chemical,
74	biological, or physical instrumental analysis administered by a
75	laboratory approved by the department for the purpose of
76	determining the presence or absence of a drug or its
77	metabolites.
78	(e)  "Initial drug screening" or "initial screen" means a
79	sensitive, rapid, and reliable procedure to identify negative
80	and presumptive positive specimens. All initial screens shall
81	use an immunoassay procedure or an equivalent or shall use a
82	more accurate scientifically accepted method approved by the
83	department, as more accurate technology becomes available in a
84	cost-effective form.
85	(f)  "Nonprescription medication" means a medication that
86	is authorized pursuant to federal or state law for general
87	distribution and use without a prescription for the treatment of
88	human diseases, ailments, or injuries.
89	(g)  "Prescription medication" means a drug or medication
90	obtained pursuant to a prescription as defined in s. 893.02.
91	(h)  "Specimen" means any tissue, hair, urine, saliva, or
92	other product of the human body capable of revealing the
93	presence of a drug or its metabolites. A urine specimen shall be
94	collected and analyzed for all initial drug screens and
95	confirmation tests under this section.
96	(4)  DRUG SCREENING AND CONFIRMATORY TESTING.-
97	(a)  An individual is disqualified from receiving or
98	continuing to receive temporary cash assistance if the
99	individual:
100	1.  Refuses to submit to drug screening under this section.
101	Eligibility for temporary cash assistance is restored when the
102	individual agrees to be screened and screens negatively for
103	drugs or passes a confirmation test;
104	2.  Fails a drug screening and refuses to take a
105	confirmation test; or
106	3.  Tests positive for drugs as a result of a confirmation
107	test performed under this section.
108	(b)  If the individual fails or refuses the confirmation
109	test required under this section, the individual is not eligible
110	to receive temporary cash assistance for 3 years after the date
111	of the failed screening.
112	(c)  Temporary cash assistance benefits may be continued
113	for the child or children in the family with a disqualified
114	member, if the benefits are made payable to a protective payee
115	as described in s. 414.065(2). However, the protective payee
116	must not have been convicted of a drug felony within the prior 3
117	years.
118	(d)  The individual may reapply at the end of the 3-year
119	ineligibility period and shall again be subject to drug
120	screening and testing if the individual has been convicted of a
121	drug felony in the 3-year period immediately preceding the new
122	application.
123	(e)  The department shall provide any individual who tests
124	positive with information concerning substance abuse treatment
125	programs that may be available in the area in which he or she
126	resides. Neither the department nor the state is responsible for
127	providing or paying for substance abuse treatment as part of the
128	screening conducted under this section.
129	(f)  The cost of screening and confirmatory testing shall
130	be paid by the individual being screened and tested, and the
131	department shall solicit competitive bids for drug-screening and
132	confirmatory testing services to ensure the lowest possible cost
133	for administering the drug screen and confirmation tests. The
134	approved laboratories must conduct the screening and testing in
135	accordance with standards established by the department. The
136	laboratories must also agree to defend their results and
137	conclusions in appeal hearings, as described in s. 409.285.
138	(5)  USE OF RESULTS.-
139	(a)  All specimen collection and screening and testing for
140	drugs under this section must be performed in accordance with
141	the following procedures:
142	1.  The individual to be screened or tested must provide
143	written consent to be screened or tested for drugs on a form
144	developed by the department.
145	2.  A specimen shall be collected with due regard to the
146	privacy of the individual providing the specimen and in a manner
147	reasonably calculated to prevent substitution or contamination
148	of the specimen.
149	3.  Specimen collection must be documented, and the
150	documentation procedures must include:
151	a.  Labeling of specimen containers so as to reasonably
152	preclude the likelihood of erroneous identification of drug-
153	screen or confirmation-test results.
154	b.  A form on which the individual undergoing drug
155	screening or confirmatory testing may provide any information he
156	or she considers relevant to the screen or test, including
157	identification of currently or recently used prescription or
158	nonprescription medication or other relevant medical
159	information. The form must provide notice of the most common
160	medications by brand name or common name, as applicable, as well
161	as by chemical name, which may alter or affect a drug screen or
162	confirmation test. The providing of information does not
163	preclude the administration of the drug screen or test, but must
164	be taken into account in interpreting any positive drug-screen
165	or confirmation-test result.
166	4.  Specimen collection, storage, and transportation to the
167	screening or testing site must be performed in a manner that
168	reasonably precludes contamination or adulteration of specimens
169	as specified in the department's drug-screening and
170	confirmatory-testing protocols, policies, and procedures.
171	(b)  A specimen that produces a positive screen or positive
172	test result must be preserved for a certain period of time as
173	established by the department's drug-screening and confirmatory-
174	testing protocols, policies, and procedures. The length of time
175	for the preservation of specimens shall be consistent with
176	industry standards. However, if the screened or tested
177	individual undertakes an administrative or legal challenge to
178	the drug-screen or confirmatory-test result, the specimen must
179	be preserved until the case or administrative appeal is settled.
180	(6)  REPORT.-The department shall submit a report to the
181	Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the
182	House of Representatives by January 1, 2013, that includes:
183	(a)  The number of individuals screened and tested, a list
184	of the substances for which individuals were screened and
185	tested, and the results of the screening and testing.
186	(b)  The number of applicants denied temporary cash
187	assistance for failing a confirmation test and the number of
188	recipients for whom temporary cash assistance was terminated for
189	refusing to submit to a drug screen or confirmation test or
190	failing a confirmation test while receiving benefits.
191	(c)  The number of individuals who refused to be screened.
192	(d)  The number of months and the amount of temporary cash
193	assistance for which individuals would potentially have been
194	eligible if they had not tested positive or refused to be
195	screened.
196	(e)  An estimate of the costs of the drug-screening
197	program, including the average cost of individual drug screens
198	and confirmation tests and the cost of administering the
199	program.
200	(7)  RULES.-The department may adopt rules to develop and
201	implement the drug-screening program as required by this
202	section.
203	Section 2.  Subsection (1) of section 414.095, Florida
204	Statutes, is amended to read:
205	414.095  Determining eligibility for temporary cash
206	assistance.-
207	(1)  ELIGIBILITY.-An applicant must meet eligibility
208	requirements of this section before receiving services or
209	temporary cash assistance under this chapter, except that an
210	applicant shall be required to register for work and engage in
211	work activities in accordance with s. 445.024, as designated by
212	the regional workforce board, and may receive support services
213	or child care assistance in conjunction with such requirement.
214	The department shall make a determination of eligibility based
215	on the criteria listed in this chapter. The department shall
216	monitor continued eligibility for temporary cash assistance
217	through periodic reviews consistent with the food assistance
218	eligibility process. Food assistance benefits shall not be
219	denied to an individual solely based on a felony drug
220	conviction, unless the conviction is for trafficking pursuant to
221	s. 893.135. To be eligible for temporary cash assistance under
222	this section, an individual convicted of a drug felony must be
223	satisfactorily meeting the requirements of the temporary cash
224	assistance program and s. 414.0652, including all substance
225	abuse treatment requirements. Within the limits specified in
226	this chapter, the state opts out of the provision of Pub. L. No.
227	104-193, s. 115, that eliminates eligibility for temporary cash
228	assistance and food assistance for any individual convicted of a
229	controlled substance felony.
230	Section 3.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.

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