By Phillip Smith | The Daily Chronic - The Voice of the Reform Generation
RALEIGH, NC – A bill that would require public benefits recipients to take a drug test upon suspicion they are using drugs passed won final approval in the North Carolina legislature late last week and now heads for the governor’s desk. The bill had passed both houses of the legislature earlier this month, but had to win a concurrence vote in the Senate after the House amended it.
Last Thursday, the Senate gave final approval to the bill, passing it 32-4 without debate. That despite concerns raised in the House that it would push drug users away without encouraging them to get help.
The bill, House Bill 392, requires participants in the state’s Work First program, which offers cash benefits, training, and support services to families, to submit to drug testing if authorities have a reasonable suspicion they are on drugs.
The bill also requires stringent background checks to ensure that recipients are not probation or parole violators or have outstanding felony warrants.
Republican senators amended the bill to make it more palatable by i. . . . . READ MORE