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Arkansas House Endorses Drug Screening for Benefits Bill

1 min read

LITTLE ROCK – Some Arkansans who apply for job-training benefits and other family aid would be forced to take a drug test under a bill backed by the House.

Legislators voted 69-14 Monday to support the creation of a two-year pilot program. The Department of Workforce Services would be required to question applicants and to refer people deemed as suspicious for drug testing.

The change would apply to about 12,000 people in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.

The bill now heads to the Senate. A spokesman for Gov. Asa Hutchinson said the governor will review the bill once it has been passed.

Proponents say the change will help funding go to those who need it. Opponents have said similar laws in other states haven’t produced results and waste taxpayer money.

(Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, rewritten, broadcast or distributed.)

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