Ohio committee hears testimony on House Bill 58 to certify and regulate recovery housing

Columbus — Members of the Ohio House Community Revitalization Committee held a second hearing on House Bill 58 on Monday, hearing two hours of testimony from prosecutors, county officials, law-enforcement leaders and recovery-service providers who urged lawmakers to create a certificate-of-need process and local enforcement to address unregulated recovery housing.

The bill, described by proponents as the Recovering Housing Certificate of Need Program, would require operators to obtain state approval before opening recovery houses and would give local Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAM) boards authority to inspect facilities, investigate complaints and, in some cases, close facilities that fail to meet standards. “This bill is not anti recovery housing. This bill is pro recovery, pro safety, and pro community,” Edwin Martel, a former Portsmouth city councilman, told the committee.

Why it matters: Witnesses said a rapid expansion of recovery housing in parts of southern Ohio has produced both high-quality programs and operators who, they say, prioritize profit over residents’ safety. Law-enforcement and local officials told the committee that unregulated homes can strain police, fire and emergency medical services and depress local housing markets when multiple group homes cluster in single neighborhoods.

Testimony and concerns

Shane Tinneman, identified by the committee as the…