Hawaii won’t be drug testing public assistance applicants and recipients any time soon.

John Mizuno, chairman of the House Committee on Human Services, made the call after an informational briefing Thursday.

The hearing’s purpose was to determine whether two House bills related to drug screening Temporary Aid for Needy Families participants were constitutional and fair. 

Mizuno said he thinks a new law is unnecessary.

“For this year, we are not going to entertain any TANF drug testing bill,” said Mizuno, D-Alewa Heights-Kalihi.

Existing Hawaii Administrative Rules and federal statutes already permit screening cash benefit recipients for illegal drug use when there’s reasonable cause to do so. And unlike the legislation currently before the Legislature, the existing regulations allow participants to remain in the program while they are working through substance abuse issues.

Mizuno noted the price — $43 per test — makes it cost-prohibitive to test all recipients, and he added that blanket testing would probably be struck down as unconstitutional, as was the case in Florida.

“If you wanted to pass a state law in Hawaii, you have to make sure there’s a nexus, a reasonable explanation for the test,” he said.

He would also like to avoid the potential impact of any new law on low-income families. “If you test positive, you’re out,” he said.

If the issue gains traction in later sessions, Mizuno said he would like to see it lead to a benevolent law. 

“I don’t want to cut someone off and have them end up homeless,” he said.