Proposed bill would test welfare recipients for drugs

MAT-SU — With this year’s legislative session not due to start for another couple of weeks, one Valley legislator said he’s already received quite a bit of feedback on a piece of legislation he’s proposed.

Wes Keller, a Republican who represents Wasilla in the state House, said news media and constituents have already weighed in on a bill he pre-filed that would allow the Department of Health and Social Services to test recipients of public assistance for drug use.

“I bet you I’ve gotten 20-some e-mails and only one is negative,” Keller said.

He said the measure is more aimed at addressing substance abuse problems than it is at penalizing anyone. It’s not a law enforcement matter. The tests would be administered at the Department of Health and Social Services, not by any law enforcement agency, he said. And not everyone who gets assistance would be tested.

“It would be a random deal, plus it could also be done at the discretion of the department if they see a person where they suspect abuse,” Keller said.

And if the test comes back positive?

“They may withhold public assistance if there’s a positive result,” Keller said, emphasizing the word “may” and explaining it’s up to Health and Social Services to make that call.

He said caseworkers there could also direct the person with the positive test result toward treatment programs. He said writing a check and handing it to a drug user could end up just exacerbating the problem.

“Substance abuse has lots of ties to child abuse and domestic violence,” he said. “So we’re trying to deal with those things.”

But to do that, he said, first you have to know that there’s a problem. Testing will provide that information.

Keller’s website includes press releases on two other pieces of legislation he’s pre-filed. Both are less controversial.

The first would allow Medicaid recipients to get more preventative care.

“There’s been some companies that have come up with a plan where if you pay a very minimal amount per month they give you blood tests and they give you a rundown of your health and then a nurse or somebody works with you and if you’re predisposed to diabetes or something like that they help you avoid it.”

The bill would allow Medicaid recipients to use those types of programs. In the long run, Keller said, it would likely end up saving the state money since it’s cheaper to avoid diabetes or heart disease than it is to treat it.

The third of Keller’s pre-filed bills deals with the Department of Transportation’s website. Keller’s legislation would make that site more comprehensive.

“I was on the Transportation Committee the year before last,” he said. “And it’s hard for me to get information.”

None of the rest of the Valley’s delegation has any mention of pre-filed bills on their websites. That doesn’t mean there aren’t any in the works, just that they haven’t been announced yet. The 2010 session doesn’t start until Jan 19.

Keller said the advantage of pre-filing is to give his colleagues time to chew over the legislation and come up with ideas. It gets the ball rolling early and frees up time that might otherwise have been spent mulling things over.

Mike Rovito, an aide to state Sen. Linda Menard, said the senator is working on one bill she plans to pre-file that would bump up the state’s property tax exemption for the elderly and disabled veterans.

The current exemption stands at $150,000, he said, but Menard’s bill would bump it up to $200,000. There is an important caveat, though: If the state doesn’t have the money to reimburse local governments for that change it doesn’t go into effect. Which, he said, is aimed at making sure property taxpayers who don’t qualify don’t see their taxes hiked to make up the difference.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.