California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 838

Introduced by Assembly Member Brough

(Coauthor: Assembly Member Harper)

February 26, 2015

An act to amend Section 1505 of, and to add Section 1534.3 to, the Health and Safety Code, relating to recovery houses.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 838, as introduced, Brough. Recovery houses.

Existing law, the California Community Care Facilities Act, provides for the licensing and regulation of community care facilities, as defined, by the State Department of Social Services. A violation of the act is a misdemeanor. Existing law exempts recovery houses providing group living arrangements for persons recovering from alcoholism or drug addiction from the act.

This bill would require a recovery house that is owned or operated, as defined, by a community care facility licensed pursuant to the act and that functions as an integral component of that community care facility to be deemed a facility that provides treatment or services under the license of the community care facility. The bill would subject a facility under that license to the inspection and enforcement provisions of the act.

Because this bill would extend the application of a crime under these provisions, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program.

The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 1505 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

1505.  

This chapter does not apply to any of the following:

(a) Any health facility, as defined by Section 1250.

(b) Any clinic, as defined by Section 1202.

(c) Any juvenile placement facility approved by the Department
of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Justice, or
any juvenile hall operated by a county.

(d) Any place in which a juvenile is judicially placed pursuant
to subdivision (a) of Section 727 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code.

(e) Any child day care facility, as defined in Section 1596.750.

(f) Any facility conducted by and for the adherents of any
well-recognized church or religious denomination for the purpose
of providing facilities for the care or treatment of the sick who
depend upon prayer or spiritual means for healing in the practice
of the religion of the church or denomination.

(g) Any school dormitory or similar facility determined by the
department.

(h) Any house, institution, hotel, homeless shelter, or other
similar place that supplies board and room only, or room only, or
board only, provided that no resident thereof requires any element
of care as determined by the director.

(i) Recovery houses or other similar facilities providing group
living arrangements for persons recovering from alcoholism or
drug addiction where the facility provides no care or supervision begin insert ,
except if the facility is subject to the provisions set forth in Section
1534.3 end insert .

(j) Any alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facility
as defined by Section 11834.11.

(k) Any arrangement for the receiving and care of persons by
a relative or any arrangement for the receiving and care of persons
from only one family by a close friend of the parent, guardian, or
conservator, if the arrangement is not for financial profit and occurs
only occasionally and irregularly, as defined by regulations of the
department. For purposes of this chapter, arrangements for the
receiving and care of persons by a relative shall include relatives
of the child for the purpose of keeping sibling groups together.

(l) (1) Any home of a relative caregiver of children who are
placed by a juvenile court, supervised by the county welfare or
probation department, and the placement of whom is approved
according to subdivision (d) of Section 309 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code.

(2) Any home of a nonrelative extended family member, as
described in Section 362.7 of the Welfare and Institutions Code,
providing care to children who are placed by a juvenile court,
supervised by the county welfare or probation department, and the
placement of whom is approved according to subdivision (d) of
Section 309 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(3) On and after January 1, 2012, any supervised independent
living placement for nonminor dependents, as defined in
subdivision (w) of Section 11400 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, who are placed by the juvenile court, supervised by the
county welfare department, probation department, Indian tribe,
consortium of tribes, or tribal organization that entered into an
agreement pursuant to Section 10553.1 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, and whose placement is approved pursuant to
subdivision (k) of Section 11400 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code.

(4) A Transitional Housing Program-Plus, as defined in
subdivision (s) of Section 11400 of the Welfare and Institutions
Code, that serves only eligible former foster youth over 18 years
of age who have exited from the foster care system on or after their
18th birthday, and that has obtained certification from the
applicable county in accordance with subdivision (c) of Section
16522 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(m) Any supported living arrangement for individuals with
developmental disabilities, as defined in Section 4689 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code.

(n) (1) Any family home agency, family home, or family
teaching home as defined in Section 4689.1 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, that is vendored by the State Department of
Developmental Services and that does any of the following:

(A) As a family home approved by a family home agency,
provides 24-hour care for one or two adults with developmental
disabilities in the residence of the family home provider or
providers and the family home provider or providers’ family, and
the provider is not licensed by the State Department of Social
Services or the State Department of Public Health or certified by
a licensee of the State Department of Social Services or the State
Department of Public Health.

(B) As a family teaching home approved by a family home
agency, provides 24-hour care for a maximum of three adults with
developmental disabilities in independent residences, whether
contiguous or attached, and the provider is not licensed by the
State Department of Social Services or the State Department of
Public Health or certified by a licensee of the State Department of
Social Services or the State Department of Public Health.

(C) As a family home agency, engages in recruiting, approving,
and providing support to family homes.

(2) No part of this subdivision shall be construed as establishing
by implication either a family home agency or family home
licensing category.

(o) Any facility in which only Indian children who are eligible
under the federal Indian Child Welfare Act (Chapter 21
(commencing with Section 1901) of Title 25 of the United States
Code) are placed and that is one of the following:

(1) An extended family member of the Indian child, as defined
in Section 1903 of Title 25 of the United States Code.

(2) A foster home that is licensed, approved, or specified by the
Indian child’s tribe pursuant to Section 1915 of Title 25 of the
United States Code.

(p) (1) (A) Any housing occupied by elderly or disabled
persons, or both, that is initially approved and operated under a
regulatory agreement pursuant to Section 202 of Public Law 86-372
(12 U.S.C. Sec. 1701q), or Section 811 of Public Law 101-625
(42 U.S.C. Sec. 8013), or whose mortgage is insured pursuant to
Section 236 of Public Law 90-448 (12 U.S.C. Sec. 1715z), or that
receives mortgage assistance pursuant to Section 221d (3) of Public
Law 87-70 (12 U.S.C. Sec. 1715l), where supportive services are
made available to residents at their option, as long as the project
owner or operator does not contract for or provide the supportive
services.

(B) Any housing that qualifies for a low-income housing credit
pursuant to Section 252 of Public Law 99-514 (26 U.S.C. Sec. 42)
or that is subject to the requirements for rental dwellings for
low-income families pursuant to Section 8 of Public Law 93-383
(42 U.S.C. Sec. 1437f), and that is occupied by elderly or disabled
persons, or both, where supportive services are made available to
residents at their option, as long as the project owner or operator
does not contract for or provide the supportive services.

(2) The project owner or operator to which paragraph (1) applies
may coordinate, or help residents gain access to, the supportive
services, either directly, or through a service coordinator.

(q) A resource family, as defined in Section 16519.5 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code

(r) Any similar facility determined by the director.

SEC. 2.  

Section 1534.3 is added to the Health and Safety Code,
to read:

1534.3.  

(a) A recovery house that is owned or operated by a
community care facility licensed pursuant to this chapter and that
functions as an integral component of that community care facility
shall be deemed a facility that provides treatment or services under
the license of the community care facility and shall be subject to
the inspection and enforcement provisions set forth in this chapter.

(b) For purposes of this section:

(1) “Community care facility” is any facility licensed pursuant
to this chapter that provides recovery or treatment services for
alcohol or drug abuse recovery.

(2) “Integral component” means the nature of the services
provided by the community care facility to a recovery house, or
the proximity of the recovery house to the community care facility,
makes the recovery house an integral component of that community
care facility in providing recovery or treatment services, such as
outpatient treatment, support meetings, or drug testing.

(3) “Owned or operated” means (A) a recovery house is owned
or operated by, or affiliated with, the same person, firm,
partnership, association, corporation, or local government entity
that owns or operates the community care facility, or (B) the
community care facility contracts with a recovery house to provide
services to residents of the recovery house.

(4) “Recovery house” means an alcoholism or drug abuse
recovery or treatment facility that serves six or fewer persons that
is otherwise not required to be licensed pursuant to this chapter.

(c) Subdivision (a) shall not apply when the overall combined
number of persons served by a community care facility in a
recovery house or recovery houses is equal to six persons or less.

SEC. 3.  

No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California Constitution because
the only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school
district will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or
infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty
for a crime or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of
the Government Code, or changes the definition of a crime within
the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the California
Constitution.