Legislation to spend funds on a program that would drug test some welfare recipients has passed the Indiana House, and now moves onto the Senate. Published reports say House Bill 1483 would require recipients of Temporary Aid for Needy Families benefits to take a written test that determines the propensity to use drugs with 90-percent accuracy. Recipients with a high propensity would then have a 50-50 chance of a forced drug test, and if a test comes back positive, recipients could continue getting welfare as long as they sign up with a treatment program. Repeated positive tests may result in a permanent loss of welfare payments. Proponents of the bill say this could save Indiana one-point-five million dollars a year.
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