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Senate committee hears survivor testimony and sponsor outlines discharge-plan, notification and debarment provisions in reentry housing bill
Summary
Senator Hansen presented SB 292 after recounting an attack that motivated the legislation; the bill would require providers and landlords receiving state reentry funds to use a discharge plan and to notify relevant agencies before evicting a tenant. A survivor, Grace Peterson, testified about her assault; committee members asked for collaboration and redundancy when agencies craft templates. No vote was recorded.
Senator Hansen introduced Senate Bill 292, describing how an assault on a Dover‑area resident spurred work with state agencies to require discharge plans and warm handoffs for people living in reentry or halfway houses that receive state funds. The sponsor said the measure applies to landlords who accept state reentry funds and requires that, before evicting or otherwise discharging a tenant, the provider follow a discharge plan and notify the funding agency and relevant local actors.
Senator Hansen said the bill includes a six‑month implementation period to allow state agencies to develop a template discharge plan in coordination with the Department of Health and Social Services and the Department of Justice. If a landlord fails to comply, the sponsor said the landlord may be debarred from receiving payments for one year from the funding source, and existing tenants would not be evicted or displaced as a direct result of enforcement actions tied to debarment.
Grace Peterson, whose experience the sponsor recounted as the bill's origin, testified in detail about being assaulted, placed in a car, and left in a nearby state; she described sustaining a concussion and staples to her head and urged the committee to advance the bill to add accountability for halfway houses and landlords accepting state funds. "I just feel this bill will make communities safer," she told the committee.
Committee discussion and public comment emphasized the need for agency collaboration and redundancy. Jerome Heisler, who has experience with group home provision, asked that responsibility not rest on landlords alone and recommended clear interagency roles to ensure safety nets function when a discharge plan is triggered. Senator Hansen and bill backers said the bill is intended to require coordination among funders, providers and law‑enforcement or supervision agencies to avoid leaving tenants without supports.
No vote occurred; the bill's backers asked for further committee consideration and assistance from agencies to finalize templates and enforcement procedures.
