Okla. Gov. Fallin Signs Welfare Drug Testing Bill
KSCB News - May 17, 2012 8:40 am
Certain Oklahoma welfare recipients could
be subjected to drug tests under a bill signed into law by Governor
Mary Fallin.
The bill was one of a dozen measures Fallin signed late
Wednesday.
The measure authorizes the Department of Human Services to
conduct drug tests on welfare applicants if they have a reasonable
suspicion the person is using drugs. The proposed law applies to
the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, or TANF, which
serves more than 20,000 Oklahomans each month.
An earlier version of the bill would have required all TANF
recipients to take and pay for a drug test before receiving
benefits, but the measure was scaled back in the Senate.
Fallin also vetoed a bill Wednesday that would have exempted the
Oklahoma Military Department from certain purchasing requirements.