Albany (WSYR-TV) - Should potential recipients of public assistance be drug tested? Legislation proposed Thursday would require it.
Assemblyman Clifford Crouch is behind the bill, which states that in order to be eligible for assistance, the recipient must submit to a drug test.
If the person fails the drug test, he or she would be required to join a drug rehabilitation program. While attending rehab, they will then receive public assistance.
Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli opposes the idea. He says the cost will outweigh the benefits. "I don't think the legislation is going to go anywhere, I think it's kind of picking on one class of individuals and if you really get into the legislation it's going to cost a lot of money to implement and I don't think that there's any resolve within the Assembly to get something like this done," he said.
Magnarelli says legislation like this wouldn't save taxpayers money, but would end up costing them more money to pay for the tests.
