BILL NUMBER: S5497
SPONSOR: HARCKHAM
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to establishing
certified recovery residences for individuals recovering from substance
use disorder
 
PURPOSE:
Establishes certified recovery residences for individuals recovering
from substance use disorders.
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends the mental hygiene law to grant the commissioner the
power to operate or cause to be operated certified recovery residential
facilities. If a provider intends to establish a residential facility
for individuals recovering from substance use disorder within a munici-
pality but does not have a specific site selected, it may notify the
chief executive officer of the municipality in writing of its intentions
and include in such notice a description of the requirements of the
program. When a site has been selected by the provider, it must notify
the chief executive officer of the municipality and include the specific
address of the site, the type of community residence, the number of
residents, and the community support requirements of the program. The
municipality will then have forty days to approve the site, suggest a
different site, or object to the establishment of the facility because
it would result in an overconcentration of certified recovery residen-
tial facilities. A certified recovery residence will be deemed a family
unit for purposes of local laws and ordinances.
Section 2 states the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Individuals with substance use disorder who are experiencing homeless-
ness are much more likely to suffer from an overdose than those who have
access to housing. According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration (SAMHSA), individuals experiencing homelessness
have an adjusted overdose risk rate of 1.8% versus 0.3% for those who
have access to housing. If barriers to building recovery housing contin-
ue to exist many preventable deaths will occur.
This bill seeks to prevent communities from excluding substance use
recovery residential facilities unless the area is saturated, or a
better site in the same community could be found.
 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-2024: S6094 - Died in Alcoholism & Substance Use Disorders
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
To be determined.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the ninetieth day after it shall have
become a law.