NOTE: §460.10 eff. until Oct. 1, 2027. See Acts 2025, No. 478.
§460.10. Drug testing for certain adult recipients of public assistance; legislative policy;
procedures
A. The legislature hereby reaffirms the legitimate government function of promoting
the safety and welfare of children and adults. The legislature declares that the best interests
of a significant portion of the state's population are served by ensuring that they are free of
the physical and mental impairments associated with drug dependence. The legislature
further reaffirms its compelling interest in providing safeguards to eliminate the
misappropriation of entitlement benefits. The legislature hereby directs the secretary of the
Department of Children and Family Services in consultation with the secretary of the
Louisiana Department of Health and the commissioner of administration to establish a
mandatory drug testing program for certain adults in the Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families Block Grant Program.
B. The secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services shall cause to
be instituted a mandatory drug testing program for certain adult participants, to be
determined by the secretary in consultation with the secretary of the Louisiana Department
of Health and the commissioner of administration, in the Temporary Assistance for Needy
Families Block Grant Program. No participant shall be tested if such testing is prohibited
by federal law. No sanction shall be imposed on an adult participant if such sanction is
prohibited by federal law. Such testing program shall provide procedural safeguards to
ensure the protection of the constitutional rights of the program participants and provide that
testing shall be done by state certified laboratories.
C. The required drug testing program shall require a participant to complete an
education and rehabilitation program upon the initial identification of such participant as an
illegal drug user verified by a positive test result as a prerequisite to continued receipt of
benefits. Further, the drug testing program shall provide for the suspension of participation
in such entitlement program for a participant subsequently identified by a verified positive
test result as an illegal drug user; however, in no event shall participation in such entitlement
program be suspended while the participant is taking part in the education and rehabilitation
program or until an education and rehabilitation program is available to the participant. The
secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services in conjunction with the
secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and the commissioner of administration
shall provide a program of education and rehabilitation for participants so identified as illegal
drug users. Such program shall include regulations governing the reentry of a suspended
recipient into the entitlement program based on subsequent testing results and completion
of education and rehabilitation programs. Such program shall also include the provision of
inpatient services for any participant identified as an illegal drug user if it is determined that
such inpatient services are necessary for successful rehabilitation.
D. The secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services in consultation
with the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and the commissioner of
administration shall promulgate rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this
Section in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. Such rules and regulations
shall provide that the cost of testing participants for the presence of illegal drugs and the
treatment of such participants pursuant to the provisions of this Section shall be borne by the
department or departments that grant the applicable public assistance.
E. The secretary shall prepare a written statistical report on the program and submit
the report to the legislature on or before January 1, 1999 and annually thereafter.
NOTE: §460.10 as amended by Acts 2025, No. 478, eff. Oct. 1, 2027.
§460.10. Drug testing for certain adult recipients of public assistance; legislative policy;
procedures
A. The legislature hereby reaffirms the legitimate government function of promoting
the safety and welfare of children and adults. The legislature declares that the best interests
of a significant portion of the state's population are served by ensuring that they are free of
the physical and mental impairments associated with drug dependence. The legislature
further reaffirms its compelling interest in providing safeguards to eliminate the
misappropriation of public assistance benefits. The legislature hereby directs the secretary
of Louisiana Works, in consultation with the secretary of the Louisiana Department of
Health and the commissioner of administration, to establish a mandatory drug testing
program for certain adults in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Block Grant
Program.
B.(1) The secretary of Louisiana Works shall cause to be instituted a mandatory drug
testing program for certain adult participants, to be determined by the secretary in
consultation with the secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and the commissioner
of administration, in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Block Grant Program.
However, no participant shall be tested if such testing is prohibited by federal law. No
sanction shall be imposed on an adult participant if such sanction is prohibited by federal
law.
(2) The testing program shall provide procedural safeguards to ensure the protection
of the constitutional rights of the program participants and provide that testing shall be done
by state certified laboratories.
C.(1) The required drug testing program shall require a participant to complete an
education and rehabilitation program upon the initial identification of the participant as an
illegal drug user verified by a positive test result as a prerequisite to continued receipt of
benefits. Further, the drug testing program shall provide for the suspension of participation
in the public assistance program for a participant subsequently identified by a verified
positive test result as an illegal drug user. However, in no event shall participation in the
public assistance program be suspended while the participant is taking part in the education
and rehabilitation program or until an education and rehabilitation program is available
to the participant.
(2)(a) The secretary of Louisiana Works, in conjunction with the secretary of the
Louisiana Department of Health and the commissioner of administration, shall provide a
program of education and rehabilitation for participants so identified as illegal drug users.
(b) The program shall include regulations governing the reentry of a suspended
participant into the public assistance program based on subsequent testing results and
completion of education and rehabilitation programs.
(c) The program shall also include the provision of inpatient services for any
participant identified as an illegal drug user if it is determined that such inpatient services
are necessary for successful rehabilitation.
D. The secretary of Louisiana Works, in consultation with the secretary of the
Louisiana Department of Health and the commissioner of administration, shall promulgate
rules and regulations to implement the provisions of this Section in accordance with the
Administrative Procedure Act. Such rules and regulations shall provide that the cost of
testing participants for the presence of illegal drugs and the treatment of such participants
pursuant to the provisions of this Section shall be borne by the department or departments
that grant the applicable public assistance.
E. The secretary of Louisiana Works shall prepare a written statistical report on the
program and submit the report to the legislature on or before January 1, 1999, and annually
thereafter.
Acts 1997, No. 1459, §1; Acts 2025, No. 478, §13, eff. Oct. 1, 2027.
NOTE: ACTS 1997, NO. 1459, §4, PROVIDES FOR EFFECTIVENESS
UPON ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.