An Act To Expand Recovery Support Services Offered in Penobscot and Piscataquis Counties and the Greater Bangor Region To Improve Access, Treatment and Recovery for Those Affected by Substance Use Disorder by Designating a Regional Peer-supported Recovery Center
Maine Legislature, Session 129, LD 0993
Committee: Health and Human Services
Sponsors: ROSEN, VEROW, DAVIS, DILL, HAMPER, MOORE
Amends: 5 MRSA §20056

Legislative Document
No. 993
S.P. 283
In Senate, February 26, 2019
An Act To Expand Recovery Support Services Offered in Penobscot 
and Piscataquis Counties and the Greater Bangor Region To 
Improve Access, Treatment and Recovery for Those Affected by 
Substance Use Disorder by Designating a Regional Peer-supported 
Recovery Center
Reference to the Committee on Health and Human Services suggested and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator ROSEN of Hancock.
Cosponsored by Representative VEROW of Brewer and
Senators: DAVIS of Piscataquis, DILL of Penobscot, HAMPER of Oxford, MOORE of 
Washington.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  5 MRSA §20056 is enacted to read:
§20056.  Regional peer-supported recovery center for Penobscot and Piscataquis 
counties and greater Bangor region
The department shall designate a peer-supported recovery center that provides 
recovery support services to persons with substance use disorder in Penobscot County as 
a regional peer-supported recovery center to provide recovery support services in 
Penobscot and Piscataquis counties and the greater Bangor region as defined in rules 
adopted by the department.  The department may not designate a peer-supported recovery 
center that was not providing recovery support services to persons with substance use 
disorder in Penobscot County on and before February 1, 2019 as a regional peer-
supported recovery center pursuant to this section.
Sec. 2.  Regional peer-supported recovery center.  By November 1, 2019, the 
Department of Health and Human Services shall contract with a regional peer-supported 
recovery center designated by the department under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, 
section 20056 to expand recovery support services to all areas in Penobscot and 
Piscataquis counties and the greater Bangor region as defined in rules adopted by the 
department.  For the purposes of this section, "recovery support services" means services 
that recognize recovery is a process of change through which individuals improve their 
health and wellness, live self-directed lives and strive to reach their full potential, 
including, but not limited to, safe housing, transportation, peer mentoring and coaching 
and assistance with and access to employment services.
Sec. 3.  Appropriations and allocations.  The following appropriations and 
allocations are made.
HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF
Office of Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 0679
Initiative:  Provides funding to the Department of Health and Human Services to contract 
with a peer-supported recovery center designated by the department as a regional peer-
supported recovery center under the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 5, section 20056 to 
expand recovery support services in Penobscot and Piscataquis counties and the greater 
Bangor region.
GENERAL FUND
2019-20
2020-21
All Other
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
GENERAL FUND TOTAL
$1,000,000
$1,000,000
SUMMARY
This bill directs the Department of Health and Human Services to contract with a 
regional peer-supported recovery center to expand recovery support services to all areas 
in Penobscot and Piscataquis counties and the greater Bangor region and provides 
funding for the contract.