Dems are against it, but not all of them. Some Republicans are against it, too. Blanket drug testing in unconstitutional, and that's why some are against it. This will be challenged in court, and the law will be overturned, just like the 1999 law in Michigan was. The Michigan law tried to get around it because they were doing random testing for welfare applicants, but it was still a targeted blanketing. The Florida law is just straight up blanket testing, and it doesn't stand a chance to a constitutional challenge.
Florida is trying to use a pilot program they did a while back as justification, in order to get around the legal challenges. As part of a pilot program in Jacksonville and parts of Putnam County from 1998 to 2001, 8,797 people applying or receiving welfare benefits were drug tested. Of those, 335 tested positive, according to a Senate analysis of the bill. But that's less than four percent, not nearly enough to make a case for blanket testing. Nor does it come anywhere near the stereotypical percentages that many conservatives believe that welfare recipients are using drugs.
Governor Scott said he wants to provide people with an incentive not to use drugs, and most importantly, to ensure that welfare funds go to their primary target – to disadvantaged children, because, you know, it's always all about the chiiiildren. No comment from the Governor as to whether or not he thinks children of drug addicted parents are disadvantaged.
The funny thing about this issue is the conservatives who rail on poor people for their crack, meth and pot use, will do so while driving to the pharmacy to fill their prescriptions for Xanax and Lortab. <snort> It's not about welfare recipients being on drugs, it's about blaming the poor for all of our problems.