Florida To Begin Testing Welfare Recipients For Drugs
June 1, 2011
Florida will begin testing welfare recipients for illicit drug use following action Tuesday by Gov. Rick Scott that will link the state’s temporary cash assistance program to tests critics say have already been ruled unconstitutional.
Following up on a campaign promise, Scott signed the measure during a Panama City visit that makes Florida the only state in the nation to test all applicants for Temporary Assistance to Needy Families before they can collect benefits, according a Washington-based public policy group that says other states have narrower testing requirements.
The new law (HB 353) requires recipients to pay for the tests and periodically be retested at their expense to continue receiving benefits. Recipients will be reimbursed if the tests, which cost anywhere from $10 to $70, depending on who is estimating, come back negative. Backers say the law will help ensure that taxpayer money goes for helping the family get back on its feet and not used to fuel a drug habit.
“While there are certainly legitimate needs for public assistance, it is unfair for Florida taxpayers to subsidize drug addiction,” Scott said in a statement. “This new law will encourage personal accountability and will help to prevent the misuse of tax dollars.”
Beginning July 1, recipients who test positive for drugs would be denied benefits for a year. A second failed test would result in a three-year ban. Recipients who complete a drug rehab program can re-apply in six months.
In two parent households, both adults would be tested. Benefits to children could be awarded to a third party recipient, who must also pass a drug screen. The law will not affect the federal food stamp program.
Critics including the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and Florida Legal Services, which say they will decide in the coming weeks if they plan to file suit challenging the law, a version of which was struck down in 2003 by a federal court in Michigan.
During debate, opponents pointed to a pilot testing program in Florida that was shut down in 2001 after it showed no significant difference in drug use between welfare recipients and the population at large.
“The wasteful program created by this law subjects Floridians who are impacted by the economic downturn, as well as their families, to a humiliating search of their urine and body fluids without cause or even suspicion of drug abuse,” Howard Simon, executive director of ACLU Florida in a statement Tuesday.
Federal law allows states to screen for drug use under the TANF program, which provides a maximum of $300 a month in cash assistance to needy families. The program, which replaced traditional welfare in the mid 1990s, has a 48-month lifetime cap on benefits.
Other states have studied the issue and decided that testing all recipients was not cost effective, the Washington, D.C.-based Center for Legal and Social Policy wrote in a study released in January. Most states conduct drug assessments but do not require across the board urine or blood tests. Some require drug tests from recipients who have been convicted of felony drug crimes.
By Michael Peltier
The News Service of Florida
Florida Minimum Wage Increases – By 6 Cents
June 1, 2011
If you work for minimum wage in Florida, you received a raise Wednesday — but it won’t make any real difference in your paycheck.
Florida’s minimum wage increased from $7.25 per hour to $7.31. For a 40-hour week, that means a paycheck increase of $2.40 before taxes, or about $125 per year.
The minimum wage also increases for those that make tips like waitresses, from $4.23 to $4.29 per hour.
The increase is due to a 2004 constitutional amendment that set Florida’ minimum wage to increase with inflation. But it took a lawsuit on behalf of Florida’s lowest paid workers to get the increase.
Ashley Rachea Creamer
June 1, 2011
Ashley Rachea Creamer, 27, of Jay died on May 28, 2011. She was a lifelong resident of Jay and a graduate of the Jay High School class of 2002. She graduated from OWCC in 2004. She was a loving mother, daughter, sister and friend to those that knew and loved her.
She is survived by her daughter, Madalynn Grace; parents, Charles and Linda Creamer; sister, Crystal Creamer (Derek) Kelley; fiancee, Chad Summerlin; grandmother, Bernice Creamer; niece, Dalana Brake and many cousins, aunts, uncles, and friends.
A visitation will be held from 6-9 p.m. on Thursday, June 2, 2011, at Jay Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held on Friday, June 3, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. at Jay Funeral Home with Rev. Jeff Dwenger officiating services. Burial will follow at Jay City Cemetery.
Jay Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.
Hurricane Season: Storm Surge Evacuation Zone Map Change
June 1, 2011
New hurricane evacuation zones in Escambia County reach inland all the way to the North Escambia area. And as the 2011 storm season begins, Escambia County Emergency Management is encouraging residents to check their property on the updated storm surge evacuation zone map.
The old evacuation zones stretched as far north as just north of Nine Mile Road along the Perdido and Escambia Rivers only for category 3 or greater storms. The new evacuation zones stretch as far north as North Barth Road along the Escambia River and Vantage Road on the Perdido River — locations that are prone to flooding.
“Property owners impacted by the new storm surge maps should consider the purchase of flood insurance. Please check with your insurance agent if you are now in an evacuation zone. Staying safe from surge flooding is easy if you follow evacuation orders and don’t wait until it is too late,” said John Dosh, Escambia’s emergency management chief.
The new plans will eliminate evacuation zone references based up the category of the storm. Rather than the category evacuation zones, the county will instead identify evacuation zones with an A, B, C, D, and E reference.
While the new evacuation zones stretch further inland into North Escambia based upon storm surge date, the overall number of people that would be ordered to evacuate will be reduced — most of the included land in the North Escambia area is along the Perdido or Escambia River and very sparsely populated.
To view the new evacuation zones, visit click here.
New Principal Named For Jay High School
June 1, 2011
The Santa Rosa County School Board has named a new principal for Jay High School.
Brad Marcilliat will transition into the principal’s job on July1. He has served as assistant principal at the grade 7-12 school since late 2009. Principal Dale Westmoreland is retiring after five years at Jay High School’s principal.