HB 969

1	A bill to be entitled
2	An act relating to unemployment compensation drug testing;
3	creating s. 443.093, F.S.; creating the Drug Deterrence
4	Program within the Agency for Workforce Innovation;
5	providing legislative intent; providing the scope of
6	eligibility for benefits; defining terms; providing for
7	the selection process of individuals to be tested;
8	providing for notice; providing terms of disqualification
9	of benefits; requiring the agency to supply information on
10	drug-treatment programs; requiring tested individuals to
11	bear the cost of tests; providing for the reporting of
12	positive results of certain individuals to a law
13	enforcement agency; requiring that the agency contract
14	with qualified laboratories to administer the tests;
15	providing qualifying standards for laboratories; providing
16	for authentication and the admissibility of drug tests in
17	unemployment compensation hearings; creating a rebuttable
18	presumption; providing testing procedures to be followed
19	by laboratories; providing for the preservation of test
20	samples; providing for the retesting of test samples;
21	providing for an appeals process; requiring the agency to
22	adopt rules; directing the agency to submit a report to
23	the Governor, the President of the Senate, and the Speaker
24	of the House of Representatives; directing the Office of
25	Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability to
26	submit a report to the Governor, the President of the
27	Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives;
28	providing for expiration of the program; providing an
29	effective date.
30
31	Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
32
33	Section 1.  Section 443.093, Florida Statutes, is created
34	to read:
35	443.093  Drug Deterrence Program.--
36	(1)  PURPOSE.--It is the intent of the Legislature to
37	create within the Agency for Workforce Innovation the Drug
38	Deterrence Program. The Legislature finds that illegal drug use
39	is a threat to public safety. The purpose of this program is to
40	require random drug testing as a condition for unemployment
41	benefits to prevent the enabling of drug use with government
42	funds, thereby protecting the public. In addition, because the
43	agency provides job-placement assistance, this program serves to
44	promote safer workplaces.
45	(2)  SCOPE.--In addition to any benefit eligibility or
46	disqualification conditions prescribed in this chapter, any
47	individual making a claim for benefits or receiving benefits is
48	subject to this section. As a condition to making a claim for
49	benefits or accepting receipt of benefits, an individual must
50	agree to comply with the terms of this section, including, but
51	not limited to, agreeing to be subject to random drug testing.
52	(3)  DEFINITIONS.--As used in this section, the term:
53	(a)  "Agency" means the Agency for Workforce Innovation.
54	(b)  "Drug" means an amphetamine, a cannabinoid, cocaine,
55	phencyclidine (PCP), a hallucinogen, methaqualone, an opiate, a
56	barbiturate, a benzodiazepine, a synthetic narcotic, a designer
57	drug, or a metabolite of any of the substances listed in this
58	paragraph.
59	(c)  "Drug test" or "test" means any chemical, biological,
60	or physical instrumental analysis administered by a laboratory
61	certified by the United States Department of Health and Human
62	Services or licensed by the Agency for Health Care
63	Administration for the purpose of determining the presence or
64	absence of a drug or its metabolites.
65	(4)  CREATION.--
66	(a)  The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall implement a
67	program no later than October 1, 2009, of drug testing, on a
68	random basis:
69	1.  Ten percent of individuals who make a claim for
70	benefits; and
71	2.  Ten percent of individuals who are receiving benefits.
72	(b)  In creating and implementing the program, the agency
73	shall:
74	1.  Develop a procedure for random selection of individuals
75	for testing and shall ensure that the testing occurs on a
76	statewide basis and reasonably correlates to the population
77	distribution in the state;
78	2.  Make a determination of eligibility under s.
79	443.101(1)(d) before an applicant is selected for drug testing;
80	3.  Provide notice of the potential for drug testing to
81	individuals claiming and receiving benefits; and
82	4.  Require an individual to be tested to sign an
83	acknowledgement that he or she has received notice of the
84	agency's drug testing policy and that he or she has a right to
85	refuse to take the drug test.
86	(5)  TESTING; USE OF RESULTS.--
87	(a)  An individual is disqualified from receiving or
88	continuing to receive benefits upon:
89	1.  Refusing to submit to testing under this section; or
90	2.  Upon testing positive for drugs as a result of a test
91	under this section.
92	(b)  If the individual fails the drug test required under
93	this section, the individual is not entitled to unemployment
94	benefits for up to 52 weeks, under rules adopted by the agency,
95	and until he or she has earned income of at least 17 times his
96	or her weekly benefit amount.
97	(c)  The agency shall provide any individual who tests
98	positive with information on drug-treatment programs that may be
99	available in the area in which he or she resides; however,
100	neither the agency nor the state is responsible for providing or
101	paying for drug-treatment as part of the testing conducted under
102	this section.
103	(d)  The cost of the drug test shall be deducted from the
104	individual's benefits or, if the individual tests positive for
105	the presence a drug and is ineligible for benefits, the
106	individual shall bear the cost of the test. Any individual who
107	takes a drug test under this section, is denied benefits, and
108	refuses to pay for the test is ineligible to apply for or
109	receive assistance under this chapter until he or she pays for
110	the test.
111	(e)  The agency shall report to a local law enforcement
112	agency the identification and test results of any person who
113	tests positive for a drug and who is under community supervision
114	for a drug-related criminal offense. Community supervision
115	includes parole, probation, conditional release, or supervision
116	in a diversion or drug court program.
117	(6)  TESTING; FACILITIES.--
118	(a)  The agency shall contract with one or more
119	laboratories licensed and approved as provided in s. 440.102(9),
120	or as provided by equivalent or more stringent licensing
121	requirements established by federal law or regulation for
122	conducting drug testing.
123	(b)  Test results and chain-of-custody documentation
124	provided to the agency by an approved drug-testing laboratory is
125	self-authenticating and admissible in unemployment compensation
126	hearings, and such evidence creates a rebuttable presumption
127	that the individual used, or was using, drugs.
128	(c)  All specimen collection and testing for drugs under
129	this section shall be performed in accordance with the following
130	procedures:
131	1.  A sample shall be collected with due regard to the
132	privacy of the individual providing the sample, and in a manner
133	reasonably calculated to prevent substitution or contamination
134	of the sample.
135	2.  Specimen collection must be documented, and the
136	documentation procedures must include:
137	a.  Labeling of specimen containers so as to reasonably
138	preclude the likelihood of erroneous identification of test
139	results.
140	b.  A form for the person being tested to provide any
141	information he or she considers relevant to the test, including
142	identification of currently or recently used prescription or
143	nonprescription medication or other relevant medical
144	information. The form must provide notice of the most common
145	medications by brand name or common name, as applicable, as well
146	as by chemical name, which may alter or affect a drug test. The
147	providing of information does not preclude the administration of
148	the drug test, but must be taken into account in interpreting
149	any positive, confirmed test result.
150	c.  Specimen collection, storage, and transportation to the
151	testing site must be performed in a manner that reasonably
152	precludes contamination or adulteration of specimens.
153	(d)  Every specimen that produces a positive test result
154	must be preserved by the licensed or certified laboratory that
155	conducted the test for at least 6 months. However, if the tested
156	person undertakes an administrative or legal challenge to the
157	test result, the agency shall notify the laboratory and the
158	sample shall be retained by the laboratory until the case or
159	administrative appeal is settled.
160	(e)  An individual who tests positive for drugs may refute
161	and rule out a false positive test by having the same sample
162	retested by gas chromatography with mass spectrometry, gas
163	chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography, or an
164	equally or more specific test at the same laboratory at his or
165	her own cost.
166	(7)  APPEAL.--Any person who is deemed ineligible, or
167	becomes ineligible, for unemployment benefits because of a
168	positive drug test has a right to appeal the agency's decision
169	pursuant to s. 443.151(4).
170	(8)  RULES.--The agency shall adopt rules under ss.
171	120.536(1) and 120.54 to administer the provisions of this
172	section.
173	(9)  REPORT.--
174	(a)  The agency shall submit a report to the Governor, the
175	President of the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of
176	Representatives by January 1, 2012, which at a minimum:
177	1.  Gives the number of individuals tested, the substances
178	tested for, and the results of the testing;
179	2.  Gives the number of individuals denied unemployment
180	compensation benefits for failing a drug test upon claiming
181	benefits and the number of individuals for whom benefits were
182	terminated for failing a test while receiving benefits;
183	3.  Describes any obstacles to implementation of the
184	program;
185	4.  Gives the number of applicants who refused to be
186	tested;
187	5.  Gives the number of weeks and the amount of benefits
188	for which individuals would have been eligible if they not
189	tested positive or refused to take the test;
190	6.  Estimates the costs of the drug testing program,
191	including the average cost of individual tests and the cost of
192	administering the program;
193	7.  Estimates savings, if any, under the program to the
194	Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund; and
195	8.  Includes a recommendation on whether the Legislature
196	should maintain the program.
197	(b)  Before the 2012 Regular Session of the Legislature,
198	the Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government
199	Accountability shall review and evaluate the Drug Deterrence
200	Program and submit a report to the Governor, the President of
201	the Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. The
202	report must evaluate whether the program is cost-effective and
203	deters drug users from receiving benefits and make a
204	recommendation to the Legislature to abolish, continue,
205	reorganize, or expand the program.
206	(10)  EXPIRATION.--This section expires June 30, 2012.
207	Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.