SC bill would require drug tests for welfare

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Opponents of a bill requiring welfare applicants in South Carolina to pass a drug test say the costly proposal would violate the constitution.

A House panel postponed a vote Thursday on the bill to drug test every welfare applicant.

Republican Rep. Tom Young of Aiken says if someone is using illegal drugs, they should not get a taxpayer-funded benefit. Young said he modeled the bill after Florida’s law, which a federal judge blocked last year.

Before that ruling, fewer than 3 percent of applicants in that state tested positive.

Linda Martin with the Department of Social Services says drug tests could cost South Carolina $2.5 million, plus administrative costs. She also says taking away a single mother’s share of welfare would undermine DSS job training and drug treatment programs.