Once again, the Mississippi Legislature has proposed a bill to require drug testing for public benefit recipients in the form of House Bill 383. The ACLU of Mississippi opposes HB 383 and any effort to mandate any type of drug testing of public benefit applicants and recipients as an intrusion upon an individual’s right to privacy and an unreasonable search by the government. In addition to constitutional issues, drug testing is a misguided policy, based on the false premise that poor people are more likely to be drug users than other members of our society. By targeting recipients of public benefits, these proposals disproportionately impact communities of color.
Last year, the Mississippi Legislature passed HB49 requiring the drug screening and subsequent testing of TANF applicants. Implementation of this bill required recipients complete the SASSI instrument to assess their “probable” drug abuse. Recently, SASSI released a paper to make clear where the Institute stands with regard to states' use of the instrument for their TANF drug testing programs. As you'll see, the SASSI folks are unequivocal in their opposition to the use of the SASSI for these purposes.
Drug testing an entire class of citizens simply because they are poor "would be dangerously at odds with the tenets of our democracy." It is for this reason we strongly oppose HB 383 and would call for the legislature to reconsider its stance.
HB 383 has been referred to the House Public Health and Human Services Committee.
