HB 653

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to the drug testing of potential and
3	existing beneficiaries of unemployment compensation;
4	creating s. 443.093, F.S.; creating the Drug Deterrence
5	Program within the Agency for Workforce Innovation;
6	providing legislative intent; providing the scope of
7	eligibility for benefits; defining terms; providing for
8	the screening of individuals to determine which
9	individuals must be tested; providing for notice;
10	providing terms of disqualification for benefits;
11	requiring the agency to supply information concerning drug
12	treatment programs; providing for authentication and the
13	admissibility of drug tests in unemployment compensation
14	hearings; creating a rebuttable presumption of drug use
15	under certain circumstances; providing testing procedures;
16	providing for the preservation of test samples; providing
17	for the retesting of test samples; providing for an
18	appeals process; authorizing the agency to adopt rules;
19	directing the agency to submit a report to the Governor
20	and Legislature; directing the Office of Program Policy
21	Analysis and Government Accountability to submit a report
22	to the Governor and Legislature; providing an effective
23	date.
24
25	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
26
27	Section 1.  Section 443.093, Florida Statutes, is created
28	to read:
29	443.093  Drug Deterrence Program.-
30	(1)  PURPOSE.-It is the intent of the Legislature to create
31	within the Agency for Workforce Innovation the Drug Deterrence
32	Program. The Legislature finds that illegal drug use is a threat
33	to public safety. The purpose of this program is to require the
34	drug testing of certain individuals as a condition for
35	unemployment benefits in order to prevent the enabling of drug
36	use with government funds, thereby protecting the public.
37	(2)  SCOPE.-In addition to any benefit eligibility or
38	disqualification conditions prescribed in this chapter, any
39	individual making a claim for benefits or receiving benefits is
40	subject to this section. As a condition to making a claim for
41	benefits or accepting receipt of benefits, an individual must
42	agree to comply with the terms of this section, including, but
43	not limited to, agreeing to be subject to drug testing at the
44	individual's expense.
45	(3)  DEFINITIONS.-As used in this section, the term:
46	(a)  "Agency" means the Agency for Workforce Innovation.
47	(b)  "Drug" means an amphetamine, a cannabinoid, cocaine,
48	phencyclidine (PCP), a hallucinogen, methaqualone, an opiate, a
49	barbiturate, a benzodiazepine, a synthetic narcotic, a designer
50	drug, or a metabolite of any of the substances listed in this
51	paragraph.
52	(c)  "Drug test" or "test" means any chemical, biological,
53	or physical instrumental analysis for the purpose of determining
54	the presence or absence of a drug or its metabolites.
55	(4)  CREATION.-
56	(a)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall implement an
57	unemployment compensation drug testing program no later than
58	October 1, 2011.
59	(b)  In creating and implementing the program, the agency
60	shall:
61	1.  Develop a screening mechanism by which to assess
62	whether a person is likely to be an illicit drug user;
63	2.  Drug test individuals who are assessed to be likely
64	illicit drug users;
65	3. Make a determination of eligibility under s. 443.091 and
66	disqualification under s. 443.101 before an applicant is
67	selected for drug testing;
68	4.  Provide notice of the potential for drug testing to
69	individuals claiming and receiving benefits; and
70	5.  Require an individual who is to be tested to sign an
71	acknowledgement that he or she has received notice of the
72	agency's drug testing policy and that he or she has a right to
73	refuse to take the drug test.
74	(5)  TESTING; USE OF RESULTS.-
75	(a)  An individual is disqualified from receiving or
76	continuing to receive benefits upon:
77	1.  Refusing to submit to testing under this section; or
78	2.  Upon testing positive for drugs as a result of a test
79	under this section.
80	(b)  If the individual fails the drug test required under
81	this section, the individual is entitled to only 5 percent of
82	his or her unemployment benefits for up to 52 weeks, under rules
83	adopted by the agency, and until he or she has earned income of
84	at least 17 times his or her weekly benefit amount.
85	(c)  The agency shall provide any individual who tests
86	positive with information concerning drug treatment programs
87	that may be available in the area in which he or she resides;
88	however, the agency or the state is not responsible for
89	providing or paying for drug treatment as part of the testing
90	conducted under this section.
91	(6)  TESTING.-
92	(a)  All specimen collection and testing for drugs under
93	this section must be performed in accordance with the following
94	procedures:
95	1.  A sample shall be collected with due regard to the
96	privacy of the individual providing the sample, and in a manner
97	reasonably calculated to prevent substitution or contamination
98	of the sample.
99	2.  Specimen collection must be documented, and the
100	documentation procedures must include:
101	a.  Labeling of specimen containers so as to reasonably
102	preclude the likelihood of erroneous identification of test
103	results.
104	b.  A form for the person being tested to provide any
105	information he or she considers relevant to the test, including
106	identification of currently or recently used prescription or
107	nonprescription medication or other relevant medical
108	information. The form must provide notice of the most common
109	medications by brand name or common name, as applicable, as well
110	as by chemical name, which may alter or affect a drug test. The
111	providing of information does not preclude the administration of
112	the drug test, but must be taken into account in interpreting
113	any positive, confirmed test result.
114
115	Specimen collection, storage, and transportation to the testing
116	site must be performed in a manner that reasonably precludes
117	contamination or adulteration of specimens.
118	(b)  Every specimen that produces a positive test result
119	must be preserved for at least 6 months. However, if the tested
120	person undertakes an administrative or legal challenge to the
121	test result, the sample shall be preserved until the case or
122	administrative appeal is settled.
123	(c)  An individual who tests positive for drugs may refute
124	and rule out a false positive test by having the same sample
125	retested by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry, gas
126	chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography, or an
127	equally or more specific test.
128	(d)  Test results and chain-of-custody documentation
129	provided to the agency by an approved drug-testing laboratory is
130	self-authenticating and admissible in unemployment compensation
131	hearings, and such evidence creates a rebuttable presumption
132	that the individual used, or was using, drugs.
133	(7)  APPEAL.-Any person who is deemed ineligible for, or is
134	disqualified from, receiving unemployment benefits because of a
135	positive drug test has a right to appeal the agency's decision
136	pursuant to s. 443.151(4).
137	(8)  RULES.-The agency shall adopt rules under ss.
138	120.536(1) and 120.54 to administer this section.
139	(9)  REPORT.-
140	(a)  The agency shall submit a report to the Governor, the
141	President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
142	Representatives by January 1, 2013, which at a minimum:
143	1.  Gives the number of individuals tested, the substances
144	tested for, and the results of the testing;
145	2.  Gives the number of individuals denied unemployment
146	compensation benefits for failing a drug test upon claiming
147	benefits and the number of individuals for whom benefits were
148	terminated for failing a test while receiving benefits;
149	3.  Describes any obstacles to implementation of the
150	program;
151	4.  Gives the number of applicants who refused to be
152	tested;
153	5.  Gives the number of weeks and the amount of benefits
154	for which individuals would have been eligible if they had not
155	tested positive or refused to take the test;
156	6.  Estimates the costs of the drug testing program,
157	including the average cost of individual tests and the cost of
158	administering the program;
159	7.  Estimates savings, if any, under the program to the
160	Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund; and
161	8.  Includes a recommendation on whether the Legislature
162	should maintain the program.
163	(b)  Before the 2013 Regular Session of the Legislature,
164	the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
165	Accountability shall review and evaluate the Drug Deterrence
166	Program and submit a report to the Governor, the President of
167	the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The
168	report must evaluate whether the program is cost-effective and
169	deters drug users from receiving benefits and make a
170	recommendation to the Legislature to abolish, continue,
171	reorganize, or expand the program.
172	Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2011.

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