Senate committee approves bill to end county-level random drug testing for SNAP recipients with prior drug felonies

The Senate Health and Human Services Finance and Policy Committee on March 17 advanced Senate File 2868, a measure that would eliminate an optional county-level random drug-testing requirement for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program recipients who have a prior drug-felony conviction within the past 10 years.

Sen. Mark Clark, the bill’s author, told the committee the measure does not change eligibility or benefits but removes a condition that some counties impose, producing inconsistent treatment across Minnesota’s 87 counties. "Drug testing should be a tool for recovery when part of a treatment plan, not a county-by-county condition for food access," Clark said.

Legal Aid attorney Jessica Webster and representatives of agricultural and food-sector groups urged support, arguing the testing requirement creates administrative barriers and harms food security. "Removing this barrier helps people reenter their communities and their families to succeed," Webster said. Darin Broton, representing an ag and food coalition, said removing testing reduces obstacles to work and stable households in rural communities.

Moncies Franco, who described having a prior criminal conviction and relying on SNAP, testified that random testing would have made it harder to regain stability. "A tenured random drug-testing provision does nothing to address the complexities of substance use disorder," Franco said.

Opponents on the committee expressed concerns that eliminating the testing option removes a tool some counties use to encourage recovery. Sen. Mark Utke said he worried the change would reduce oversight. Clark and backers responded that most counties do not administer routine random testing because it is costly and burdensome and that SNAP is a federal benefit, not state-funded assistance.

Sen. Jerry Abeler moved that the committee recommend SF 2868 as amended to pass; the motion prevailed by voice vote. The committee record shows the bill was recommended to pass out of committee; no roll-call tally was recorded in the transcript. The bill will move on to the next steps of the legislative process.