Committee advances bill allowing local governments to certify and regulate sober living homes in a Hamilton County pilot; advocates warn of housing barriers

The State and Local Government Committee voted 15-7 to advance House Bill 783, as amended, to Finance, Ways and Means. The bill — prompted by incidents at a sober living residence near a school in Hamilton County — would allow local governments to require certification of sober living homes located near schools or daycares, permit local regulation of operations (health, safety and building codes) and allow localities to require residents be referred by a licensed health care provider or a court. The committee amendment limited the initial pilot to Hamilton County.

Sponsor Representative K. Martin described the bill’s origin as complaints from neighbors of a particular sober living residence: “House bill 7 83 as amended came to me from a worried mother in my district… Since February, there have been 10 calls for emergency services relating to auto theft, overdose, and others at this residence.” The sponsor said the bill is intended to provide local tools “to ensure safety and accountability of these sober living homes for both residents and their neighbors.” He emphasized local governments would still need to comply with the federal Fair Housing Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act when adopting regulations.

Paul Stevens, representing Oxford House Incorporated — a national nonprofit that operates peer-run recovery residences — testified in strong opposition. Stevens said Oxford House has high success rates and argued the bill would create barriers to timely housing access, add costs and delay entry for people in early recovery. “These barriers will also threaten the viability of good operators,” Stevens said, and he warned of legal risk under the Fair Housing Act and ADA. He described Oxford House homes as democratically governed residences with staff support and field monitoring and said expulsion procedures are handled internally by house membership.

Committee members pressed both sides on details: Representative Butler asked whether the bill’s 1,000-foot restriction around K–12 schools would create a shortage; Stevens said he did not believe a spacing rule was necessary for safety and argued that many recovery homes already operate near schools without incident. Legal counsel Matt Mundy told the committee that the bill’s provisions are permissive, and that the Department of Mental Health would maintain a list of approved umbrella organizations on its website; local governments could choose to adopt the permissive certification and regulation language, and any required referral rules would be at local discretion.

After additional sponsor remarks that the bill was driven by neighborhood safety concerns and the committee amendment to pilot the program in Hamilton County, the committee voted to advance HB 783 to Finance, Ways and Means by a 15-7 margin.

Next steps: HB 783 will be considered in Finance, Ways and Means for fiscal and policy review; opponents urged caution over ADA/FHA compliance and housing access implications.