HomeMy WebLinkAbout22 - Legislative Update - Group Residential BillsCITY OF NEWPORT BEACH
CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT
Agenda Item No. 22
June 10, 2008
TO: HONORABLE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
FROM: City Manager's Office
Dave Kiff, Assistant City Manager
949/644 -3002 or dkiff @city.newport- beach.ca.us
SUBJECT: Legislative Update — Group Residential Bills
ISSUE:
What legislation is now in Sacramento addressing group residential uses?
RECOMMENDATION:
Receive and file.
DISCUSSION:
The City continues to follow at least four pieces of legislation in Sacramento that address local
governments' ability to better regulate certain group residential uses, including licensed and
unlicensed recovery facilities.
The relevant bills are:
AB 724 (Benoit)
(passed the State Assembly, now in the Senate Health Committee)
This bill would define a sober living home, and declare that it is exempt from State licensure as
a treatment facility. It attempts to assist local governments in identifying true sober living homes
versus those pretending to be the same, by declaring that a residence housing those purporting
to be recovering from drug and alcohol abuse would be presumed to be a sober living home if it
has been certified, registered, or approved by a recognized nonprofit organization like the
Orange County Sober Living Network.
The League of California Cities supports this bill. Generally, the City is supportive as well,
provided that the new State definition of a sober living home does not limit our new ordinance
and its provisions which call for local regulation of non - licensed treatment facilities.
AB 2903 (Huffman)
(passed the State Assembly, now in the Senate Rules Committee)
This bill has gone through major changes since its introduction. Recall that State law protects
California Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs (ADP) - licensed homes with six or fewer
persons by requiring a local government to allow them in any residential zone and to treat them
as a single family use for regulatory purposes (the City's new ordinance respects this law and
does this).
As it was introduced by Assembly Member Jared Huffman (D -Marin County), AB 2903 would
have said this:
Legislative Update — Group Residential Uses
June 10, 2008
Page 2
(The requirement in State law that says a locality must treat a licensed "6 and Under" like any
single family home) shall not include a facility wherein separate buildings or portions of a
residential facility are integral components of a single alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or
treatment facility that serves more than six persons and all of the components of the facility are
managed by the same licensee.
Assembly Member Huffman introduced this bill because of ADP's actions in 2007 in Sausalito,
California regarding the former Alta Mira Hotel. ADP gave eight (8) treatment licenses for eight
"6 and Unders" all run by the Alta Mira Treatment Program, when many residents and the City
of Sausalito believed that the facility was operating the eight units integrally.
The language above would have been significantly helpful to localities, including ours, that had
multiple operators with multiple homes that operate such homes integrally. Indeed, when Sober
Living by the Sea successfully convinced Judge James Selna to "stay' the portion of the City's
ordinance that nearly mirrored AB 2903, AB 2903's passage became one of the few ways
absent the pending litigation that the City could consider regulating the many integral facilities
we believe operate in Newport Beach.
This bill passed out of Assembly Health unanimously, but was held in Assembly Appropriations
at its next stop. During this time period, opponents of the bill, likely from the treatment home
operators' side as well as county drug program administrators, were able to convince the author
to remove the "integral facilities" language in order to keep the bill moving. As a result, the bill
was amended (and passed) out of Assembly Appropriations on May 23, 2008. The bill, now in
the State Senate, now reads as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 11834.05 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read.
11834.05. The department may require any person or entity applying for licensure to provide
the department, before a license is issued, any of the following:
(a) Evidence that the treatment or recovery program meets existing zoning requirements.
(b) Evidence that the facilities have secured all required fire permits and business licenses.
(c) A copy of a neighbor introduction letter, including the name of, and contact information for,
the licensed program.
(d) Copies of written materials about the program that can be shared with neighbors.
(e) Copies of a written protocol or procedures for program staff to follow when a complaint
about the facility is received.
As a result of these amendments, the most helpful aspect of AB 2903 is section (a) above. The
deletion of the integral facilities language is disappointing.
The League of California Cities supports AB 2903 (in both forms).
SB 992 (Wiggins)
(placed on the Inactive File)
This bill required ADP to begin licensing and regulating sober homes. The concepts within the
bill were later included in the budget "trailer" bills of last year, and today ADP is preparing to, by
July 2009, develop and implement a comprehensive fee system for licensing and certifying
sober living homes (called in this bill "Adult Recovery Maintenance Facilities'). This bill was
sponsored by the California Association of Addiction Recovery Resources. The Association
stated that the purpose of SB 992 was to "help ensure a safe environment for recovering addicts
in their transition to sober living, and for the surrounding community." According to the
Assembly Floor Analysis, ADP states that there are roughly 500 facilities which would be
subject to the new regulations.
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Legislative Update — Group Residential Uses
June 10, 2008
Page 3
The League of California Cities supported SB 992.
SB 1000 Harman
Defeated in Committee (Senate Health)
This was a City- sponsored bill which would have done several things, including defining
"integral facilities." It was held in the Senate Health Committee last year as a "two -year bill"
(akin to a defeat), and then amended and resurrected by Senator Tom Harman this year. On
January 9, 2008 of this year, Council Member Henn and I attended the Senate Health
Committee hearing on the amended version of the bill, which would have asked ADP to change
its licensure application to make an applicant sign and verify that his or her application is
consistent with local zoning. This is a concept not far from what is included today in AB 2903.
SB 1000, however, was defeated, having received only two affirmative votes.
The League of California Cities supported SB 1000, but the county drug program administrators
and others were successful in convincing the Senate Health Committee that whatever is
sponsored by the City of Newport Beach is suspect — i.e. "it looks like a simple bill, so therefore
they must be up to something."
Bill information and related letters are attached to this staff report.
Conclusion. The City does not believe that our support for any of these bills — on top of the
League's support — is warranted at this time. Indeed, in some ways our support of a bill tends to
make it more difficult for the bill to pass — our name is a tad toxic in Sacramento on this issue.
We intend to revisit our options in the legislative arena next year, following the implementation
of our ordinance and studying the impacts (if any) of the November elections.
Submitted by:
Dave Kiff
Assistant City Manager
Attachments: Bill information
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AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 23, 2008
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE- 2007-09 REGULAR SESSION
ASSEMBLY BILL No. 2903
Introduced by Assembly Member Huffman
(Principal coauthor: Senator Migden)
(Coauthor: Assembly Member Adams)
(Coauthors: Senators Dutton, Hannan, and Scott)
February 22, 2008
An act to „___d Seetion 118;4.20 add Section 11834.05 to the
Health and Safety Code, relating to alcohol and drug abuse treatment
facilities.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2903, as amended, Huffman. Alcohol and drug abuse treatment
facilities.
Under existing law, the State Department of Alcohol and Drug
Programs licenses adult alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment
facilities. Existing law allows the depamnent to issue a liectise to
managed by the same lieensee if the applieartt Fneets speeified
regctireinents requires any person or entity applying for licensure to
file with the department a completed written application for licensure,
an approvedfire clearance, and a licensure fee.
Existing w . eqttires a fiteility ..,
5
AB 2903 —2—
boarding hottse or other �-innilar tenft thaf implies thett the 4
^v ^^
This bill vv v d that 1 that er, fewer persons
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This bill would authorize the department to require any person or
entity applying for licensure to provide specified information to the
department regarding the facility or treatment or recovery program.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: eyes.
State - mandated local program: no.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
1 SECTION 1. Section 11834.05 is added to the Health and
2 Safety Code, to read-
3 11834.05. The department may require any person or entity
4 applying for licensure to provide the department, before a license
5 is issued, any of the following:
6 (a) Evidence that the treatment or recovery program meets
7 existing zoning requirements.
8 (b) Evidence that the facilities have secured all required fire
9 permits and business licenses.
10 (c) A copy of a neighbor introduction letter, including the name
1 1 of and contact information for, the licensed program.
12 (d) Copies of written materials about the program that can be
13 shared with neighbors.
14 (e) Copies of a written protocol or procedures for program staff
15 to fallow when a complaint about the facility is received
16 1834. 11'ealthafid
17J amended to read!
18 118;4.-20. The Legislature hereby deelafes that it is the paliey
19 of this staie 'hat L etteh eaunty and ei A5 shall Pen-nit
20 the development oFsttAeient
21 . ,
22 with leeal need..
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6
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8
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-3- AB 2903
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I LLAGU
...,..tat *_ C 1"'T I E S
June 25, 2007
1400 K Street, Suite 400 • Sacramento, California 95814
Phone: 916.658.8200 Fax: 916.658.8240
www.eacities.org
TO: Chair and Members, Senate Health Committee
FROM: Daniel Carrigg, Legislative Director, League of California Cities
RE. AB 724 (Benoit) Sober Living Homes
Support
The League of California Cities is pleased to support AB 724.
AB 724 is collaborative work between the City of Riverside, the League of California
Cities and the California Association of Addition Recovery Resources. All parties
involved have worked to ensure that all concerns with the definition of sober living
homes have been addressed. Additionally, the definition has been amended to address
the concerns of the committee consultant pursuant to the committee analysis on
4116107.
AB 724 would create a definition of "sober living home" in order to clarify a local
government's authority to regulate the use and occupancy of a single - family residence
location in a single family residential zone that is not a sober living home or other
licensed facility. This bill will place a valid definition for the term sober living home which
local governments can rely on to determine the scope of local regulation applicable to
use.
This legislation provides local governments with the tool they need to distinguish
between a legitimate sober living home and an illegitimate one. Often times, owners or
operators will falsely claim to be operating a sober living home to avoid local regulation.
Most of these properties present substandard conditions and can thereby avoid local
regulation by claiming to be a sober living home.
For these reasons, the League supports AB 724.
Cc: Assembly Member John Benoit
Consultant, Senate Health Committee
Consultant, Senate Republican Caucus
I
,., HAGUE
OF CAL IFTT0I NIA
August 15, 2007
1400 K Street, Suite 400 • Sacramento, California 95814
Phone: 916.658.8200 Fax: 916.658.8240
www.cacities.org
TO: Chair and Members, Assembly Appropriations Committee
FROM: Dan Carrigg, Legislative Director, League of California Cities
RE: SB 992 (Wiggins) Adult Recovery Maintenance Facilities
Notice of Support
The League of California Cities is pleased to support SB 992.
SB 992 would create a new class of alcohol and drug recovery facilities known as "Adult
Maintenance Recovery Facilities" (ARM Fs) to be licensed by the Department of Alcohol and
Drug Programs (ADP). Under existing law, ADP licenses "Treatment and Recovery" facilities
and this bill would include ARMF's as facilities that are licensed.
Additionally, SB 992 would eliminate the prohibition against levy ing licensing fees for licensure
of nonprofit organizations or local governmental entities, with respect to fees for licensure of an
alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facility or an adult recovery maintenance facility.
Finally this bill would establish the Residential and Outpatient Programs Compliance Branch
Licensing and Certification Trust Fund in the State Treasury to be used exclusively to cover
administration costs of licensing and certifying the process established by this bill.
SB 992 provides quality assurance and accountability for programs that already exist in the
continuum of services available for people who are in the process of recovering from drug or
alcohol dependency. Licensing these facilities will provide accountability to ADP for the
operation of these facilities and thereby build public trust and confidence in our communities
with such facilities.
For these reasons, the League supports SB 992. If you have any questions, you can reach me
at 916-658-8222.
Cc: The Honorable Patricia Wiggins
David Peters, Legislative Representative, Capitol Venture, LLC
Julie Salley -Gray, Consultant, Assembly Appropriations Committee
Kevin Hanley, Consultant, Assembly Republican Caucus
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