Title: Safe Recovery and Community Empowerment Act
Policy area: Housing and Community Development

Summary:
Safe Recovery and Community Empowerment Act
This bill amends the Fair Housing Act to provide that nothing in federal law relating to protections for persons with disabilities prohibits a local, state, or federal government body from:
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: (1) are provided a safe living environment completely free from illicit drugs, alcohol, firearms, harassment, abuse, or harm; and (2) live in a licensed or registered residence that has committed to following standards approved by states and localities.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 472 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 472

     To amend the Fair Housing Act to better protect persons with 
                     disabilities and communities.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 12, 2017

 Mr. Issa (for himself, Mr. Moulton, Mrs. Mimi Walters of California, 
Mr. Calvert, Mr. Hunter, Mr. Royce of California, and Mr. Rohrabacher) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                             the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
     To amend the Fair Housing Act to better protect persons with 
                     disabilities and communities.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Safe Recovery and Community 
Empowerment Act''.

SEC. 2. ZONING AND LICENSING OF RESIDENTIAL RECOVERY FACILITIES.

    The Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.) is amended by 
inserting after section 807 (42 U.S.C. 3607) the following:
    ``Sec. 807A.  Nothing in this title, or other Federal law, relating 
to protections for persons with disabilities, prohibits any local, 
State, or Federal government body from--
            ``(1) requiring by law, regulation, or ordinance a 
        reasonable minimum distance between residential recovery 
        facilities within a particular area zoned for residential 
        housing, provided that the limitation--
                    ``(A) is necessary to preserve the residential 
                character of the zoned area; and
                    ``(B) allows for some residential recovery 
                facilities to be located within the zoned area; and
            ``(2) requiring that a residential recovery facility and 
        its owner or operator--
                    ``(A) obtain an operating license or use permit; or
                    ``(B) satisfy a set of consumer protection 
                standards, which may include a maximum capacity 
                requirement.''.

SEC. 3. RESIDENTIAL RECOVERY FACILITY RESIDENTS' BILL OF RIGHTS.

    Residential recovery facilities receiving direct or indirect 
payments or reimbursements or other remunerations from Medicare, 
Medicaid, or any other Federal healthcare program, or via private 
insurance purchased on a Federal exchange or subsidized by the Federal 
Government, for either housing, recovery services, or testing or 
monitoring for drugs or alcohol, shall ensure the following:
            (1) Each residential recovery facility resident residing in 
        the home or receiving addiction treatment services be provided 
        a safe living environment completely free from illicit drugs, 
        alcohol, firearms, harassment, abuse, or harm.
            (2) Residential recovery facility residents live in a 
        licensed, or registered residence that has committed to 
        following standards approved by States and localities, if such 
        standards are in place.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    Section 802 of the Fair Housing Act (42 U.S.C. 3602) is amended by 
adding to the end the following:
    ``(p) `Current, illegal use of a controlled substance' means the 
discrete, occasional, frequent, or ongoing illegal use of a controlled 
substance at the present time or in the reasonably recent past.
    ``(q) `Residential recovery facility' means 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, including payment to a third party, a portion 
of which is then provided to the residential recovery facility owner or 
operator for their services.''.
                                 <all>