Safe Recovery and Community Empowerment Act

Safe Recovery and Community Empowerment Act

This bill amends the Fair Housing Act to authorize a local, state, or federal government body to:

• limit the number of residential recovery facilities within a particular area zoned for residential housing, provided that the limitation is necessary to preserve the residential character of the area, allows for a reasonable number of such facilities to be located within such area, and does not place an overall cap on their number within a municipality or state; and
• require a facility to obtain an operating license or use permit or satisfy a set of consumer protection standards.

A residential recovery facility is a residence that provides housing to individuals in recovery from drug or alcohol addiction with the promise of providing a clean and sober environment in return for direct or indirect payment to an owner, operator, or compensated staff person.

Facilities receiving payments from a federal health care program, or via private insurance purchased on a federal exchange or federally subsidized, for either housing, recovery services, or testing or monitoring for drugs or alcohol, shall ensure that residents be provided a safe living environment completely free from illicit drugs, alcohol, firearms, harassment, abuse, or harm.