Dane County Executive Joe Parisi is looking into suing Gov. Scott Walker if an item from his budget passes that would require those receiving public benefits to pass a drug test.

Parisi has asked county attorneys to explore legal options if that budget item passes this summer, saying the reform would be unconstitutional.

“People who fall on hard times should not be treated like criminals; they should be treated like people who have fallen on hard times: with dignity and respect,” Parisi said in a statement. “Requiring someone who has just been laid off from their job to pee in a cup is not treating people in a dignified manner; it is degrading and insulting.”

The proposal is part of a push from Republican lawmakers to promote “self-sufficiency” in the state by placing tighter restrictions on public benefits, although the proposal would also provide job training and addiction counseling to those who fail the tests.

“The best way to improve lives and strengthen families is to help people become workforce ready through better education and the opportunity to acquire more skills,” Walker spokesperson Laurel Patrick told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

J. Michael Collins, the faculty director for the Center for Financial Security at the University of Wisconsin, said it is unclear if the drug testing programs like these would save the state money, because studies fail to show any real net savings or costs.

“No policy maker wants to hear that taxpayer dollars went to buy drugs,” Collins said. “But drug abuse is a serious issue at all income levels.”

Collins said it is difficult to predict the results of drug testing programs for government benefits would be because there’s not been enough study of programs like this.

Democratic opponents like Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison, have expressed several concerns regarding the proposition, including the costs of drug testing and the constitutionality of the issue.

Taylor said the proposition is a way for Walker to distract attention from the large budget shortfall the state faces, which she said was caused by his own mistakes.

“He didn’t grow jobs like he promised, he didn’t increase wages like we desperately needed him to do,” Taylor said.

Taylor said drug testing is more expensive than the money it would save by denying certain individuals public benefits. She also said the proposal is unconstitutional, which would just lead to litigation on the part of Parisi and others.