FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Anna Núñez, Communications Coordinator, ACLU of Texas, (713) 942-8146 ext. 110, [email protected]
AUSTIN - Today, the Texas House Human Services Committee held a hearing for HB 352, introduced by Rep. Ken King (R-Canadian), which would require screening and drug testing of applicants as a condition of eligibility for benefits under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. The average family receives about $175 in monthly TANF benefits.
The following can be attributed to Rebecca L. Robertson, legal & policy director of the ACLU of Texas:
“Drug tests are particularly invasive searches, and under our Constitution, the government cannot conduct such searches unless it has a good reason to believe a person is actually engaged in wrongdoing. This law authorizes government overreach by allowing arbitrary searches without any suspicion that a crime is being committed.”
A copy of testimony submitted today on behalf of the ACLU of Texas may be found here.
