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A federal court in Orlando heard arguments Monday in a lawsuit challenging a new Florida law requiring welfare recipients to pass drug tests before receiving benefits.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and Luis Lebron -- a University of Central Florida student, Navy veteran and father of a 4-year-old son -- filed suit this month against the 2-month-old law, contending it is a violation of recipients’ Fourth Amendment rights, which protect against unlawful searches and seizures.

Mandatory drug testing for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipients was a campaign promise of Gov. Rick Scott, and something he pushed hard this year during his first legislative session in office. Under the new law, applicants must provide a urine or hair sample and pass a drug screening before receiving benefits. Applicants must pay upfront for the tests, which cost between $10 and $25, but are reimbursed if they pass.

U.S. District Court Judge Mary S. Scriven heard arguments from the plaintiffs Monday in a three-hour hearing.

“We were happy to make our case today that Florida’s new law requiring government searches without suspicion is a violation of basic constitutional protections and will wait for the judge’s decision,” said Maria Kayanan, ACLU of Florida associate legal director and lead counsel for the plaintiff.

Scott is committed to the policy and is confident it will be upheld by the courts, despite a similar law in Michigan being struck down in 2000 by a federal court.

“It’s something the governor strongly believes in, and frankly, a lot of Floridians believe in, too,” said Scott spokesman Lane Wright.

A Quinnipiac poll released last week showed 71 percent of Floridians supported the welfare drug-testing policy.

Data from the Department of Children and Families, the agency that pays out TANF benefits and is responsible for the drug testing, show that since July when the law took effect, 2 percent of recipients have tested positive. National statistics show that about 8 percent of the general population uses illicit drugs.

The number of TANF recipients, however, is down significantly. In August, there were 52,400 TANF recipients, an 8 percent drop from August 2010. Whether that is a result of the drug test requirement is undetermined. The decline in welfare recipients began in January, six months before the law went into effect. Since the beginning of the year, the number of TANF recipients has dropped nearly 10 percent.

Wright said those numbers don’t reflect the possible deterrent effect on those seeking benefits. DCF officials Monday afternoon could not provide statistics showing the number of applications received each month. He also pointed to welfare reforms enacted by Congress in 1996 that give states greater leeway in conducting their programs as evidence of the federal sanction given to welfare drug testing laws.

“Congress seems to be pretty confident that it is constitutional,” Wright said. “Congress passed a law giving states authority to do drug testing,” he added, referring to the 1996 welfare reforms.

The ACLU, however, believes their Fourth Amendment challenge will hold sway.

“No piece of federal law gives states the right to violate the constitution,” said Baylor Johnson, spokesman for ACLU of Florida.

Tags:  federal court orlando arguments fourth amendment rights unlawful searches