Witnesses tell House committee that HB 58 would give local authorities power to inspect and curb problematic recovery homes

At a House Community Revitalization Committee hearing, prosecutors, local elected officials and treatment-board leaders urged support for House Bill 58, which would create a certificate-of-need framework for recovery housing and give local authorities authority to inspect facilities, investigate complaints and enforce standards.

The bill drew testimony from Scioto County Prosecuting Attorney Shane Tinneman, community leaders including former Portsmouth city councilman Edwin Martel and Mayor Jeff Gaskin of South Point, Sheriff David Thurlman, Susan Schultz, executive director of the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board of Adams, Lawrence and Scioto counties, and county commissioner Scotty Powell.

Why it matters: Proponents said unregulated growth of recovery houses has strained emergency services, harmed neighborhood property values and allowed bad actors to operate facilities that provide substandard care or act as fronts for criminal activity. "It brings teeth to the local community through its local agencies to complete inspections and investigate complaints," Tinneman told the committee, arguing that the bill would give local officials the means to act on problems they see on the ground.

Prosecutor Shane Tinneman told the committee that Scioto County has seen both high-quality treatment providers and problematic operators that "are in it only to maximize profit at the…