The Senate committee voted to recommend an amendment to Senate Bill 298 that would change New Hampshire's recovery-house certification from a voluntary system to a mandatory process overseen by the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS).

Jake Berry, vice president of policy at New Futures, told the committee the amendment would require every recovery house to be certified by the state to operate and would set up a process for houses to file with DHHS while pursuing certification. "This language would shift the DHHS certification program for recovery housing ... from voluntary to mandatory," Berry said. He added that the amendment would require operators to publicly post documents such as residents' rights, proof of certification and grievance procedures.

Berry told the committee that 91 houses are currently certified under the voluntary program and that staggered effective dates in the amendment are intended to give existing houses time to complete certification. He said New Futures worked with DHHS and the New Hampshire Partnership for Recovery Residences to craft the language.

After brief questioning from committee members about stakeholder outreach and grandfathering, the committee voted in favor of the amendment on a voice vote; a second was recorded (Senator Lang) and the chair recorded 'Aye' with no opposed voices reported in the transcript. The committee recorded the motion as "ought to pass" on the amendment.