Topic: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)

The group produced a report indicating a decline in two-parent families and proposed the state form a commission to help preserve families.

Gov. Scott says he'll appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. ... Related Research: Feb. 26, 2013 Opinion in Case No. 11-15258 before the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Judge Mary Scriven issued the injunction in late October, and by December, applications for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families reached 146,020, a 10.5 percent increase from November. According to a DCF spokesman, though, other factors than the federal court ruling helped lead to the increase.

The bill would ban the use of Electronic Benefit Transfer cards in liquor stores, strip clubs, casinos or in out-of-state locations. The other bars convicted drug felons from receiving for welfare benefits

HB 1401 bans recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Temporary Cash Assistance Program benefits from using their Electronic Benefit Transfer cards at liquor stores, strip clubs, casinos or out of state locations.

Republicans joined Democrats to all but kill HB 1205 over worries it would not pass constitutional scrutiny. Bill sponsor Rep. Jimmie Smith, however, contended it would and said that he had tested himself: "I have no doubt that it will be found to be constitutional. I can guarantee you that as of last night I have proof that I'm drug-free."

The House Health Care Appropriations Subcommittee removed a restriction from the bill that would have banned food stamp recipients from buying unhealthy sugar-laden foods with their public assistance stipend.

Although the House Health and Human Services Access Subcommittee OK'd a bill that would prevent people from using assistance benefits to buy food such as candy, cakes or other items heavily laden with sugar or corn syrup, members criticized it as being overbearing government intrusion. They got a promise from the sponsor that he'd work on the bill before its next stop.

In late October, a federal judge put a stop to the state's testing of applicants to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program for cash to pay for necessities. The drug testing began in July.

The ACLU of Florida and a university student sued the state after he refused the drug test, contending it to be a violation of the Fourth Amendment.

The hearing is a suit filed by the ACLU of Florida and a Navy veteran against the new state law that requires welfare recipients to undergo drug testing. Meanwhile, the Department of Children and Families reports that 2 percent of recipients have tested positive since the testing began in July.

Among this week's news: A federal judge upholds Fair Districts amendment, Republican Party of Florida chairman loses battle with ALS, lawsuit filed against drug-testing program.

Plaintiff Luis Lebron is a Navy veteran with a young son who was denied benefits because he refused to submit to a drug test, which he and ACLU attorneys liken to an unreasonable search under the Fourth Amendment. This lawsuit is another in a long list of legal challenges that have been filed against Gov. Rick Scott this year.

Gov. Rick Scott this week signed into law major bills dealing with prescription drugs, Medicaid, growth management and vouchers. But Scott and the GOP-controlled Legislature are coming under fire as lawsuits seeking to block new legislation begin to mount.