North Carolina Governor Vetoes Bill Mandating Drug Testing For Welfare Recipients

[Triana]

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory (R) vetoed a bill Thursday that would have mandated drug testing for some public benefits applicants in the state, calling it an expensive and ineffective way to fight drug addiction.

“Drug testing Work First applicants as directed in this bill could lead to inconsistent application across the state’s 100 counties,” McCrory said in a statement. “That’s a recipe for government overreach and unnecessary government intrusion.”

The governor did issue an executive order Thursday retaining some elements of HB 392 that verify an applicant’s criminal history.

North Carolina’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union had opposed the bill, arguing it represented an unnecessary intrusion on a select class of people with no reasonable suspicion of drug use.

THE REST:

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2013/08/15/2476571/mccrory-welfare-drug-testing/

[Scootaloo]

1. Uh oh, guess who the RINO of the week is going to be!

[WorseBeforeBetter]

2. Tillis isn't happy.

And I'm kind of shocked McCrookie vetoed this.

[yodermon]

3. too late Pat, you've already aptly proven yourself to be a Prime, A-1 Teabagger. n/t

[kestrel91316]

4. Well, there goes HIS political career.

Awesome on at least 2 levels.

[djean111]

5. "calling it an expensive and ineffective way to fight drug addiction."

No, it was an expensive and ineffective way to keep some people from receiving welfare. With a side dish of enriching some testing places. If it could have been used to deny voting privileges in some way, that would have been a bonus.

[Triana]

6. That and....

US Welfare Recipients Are Actually Mostly White And Less Likely Than The Average American To Use Drugs

http://www.addictinginfo.org/2013/08/04/welfare-white-and-drugless/

[NCarolinawoman]

7. He did this for effect, because of his sinking poll numbers.

Poll came out this week saying he was at 39%. Over at BlueNC, they were calculating that he would have to veto something soon, to show that he can be "tough". This was a couple of days ago. Looks like they were right. So many other bills in the past he could have vetoed, but he DIDN'T.

[WorseBeforeBetter]

8. McCrookie released internal poll numbers showing...

an approval rating of 48%. They really think we're morons.

[gklagan]

9. Thanks for posting this...

...I gave Davis a copy of the principles of effective drug treatment and said basically the same, this is ineffective and expensive. There are better ways to fight addiction. They didn't happen to re-fund the drug courts did they? Davis seemed to think that the Gov liked the drug court program.