Rick Scott Appeals Court Ruling to Reinstate Welfare Drug Testing

The Scott administration on Thursday appealed a court ruling that temporarily blocked Florida's drug-testing of welfare recipients.

"I cannot fully express my disappointment in the federal district courts decision. This policy is intended to help Florida families and is an effective way to ensure that welfare dollars are used for the benefit of children and to help Floridians get back to work and off public assistance," Gov. Rick Scott said in a statement.

He added, "I have no doubt that the law is constitutional, and that it is supported by the great weight of judicial authority. The court erred in rejecting the states arguments, and was unjustified in blocking the will of the peoples elected representatives. An overwhelming majority of Floridians support this law, and I will continue to fight for it in the courts.

U.S. District Judge Mary Scriven, in a 37-page ruling last month, granted a temporary injunction to the ACLU of Florida, which claimed that the drug-screening program violated the Fourth Amendment rights of applicants seeking public funds from the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program.

Though the ACLU's class-action suit initiated the legal proceedings, the organization blamed Scott for "wasting more money on a legal crusade."

And lecturing Scott on "conservative principles," the ACLU statement declared "No true conservative would defend a program that allows government to conduct intrusive, privacy-violating searches on people who are not suspected of any wrongdoing, but who are simply applicants for government services."