State rejects bill to tighten facility rules

State legislators on Wednesday rejected a bill Huntington Beach Sen. Tom Harman proposed to tighten regulations on drug recovery and sober living homes, but Harman plans to bring it back with changes in January.

Harman has been working with the city of Newport Beach, where some residents have raised concerns about a high concentration of recovery facilities and the noise, litter and crime they say attend them.

The bill would have required some facilities that don’t need to apply for state licenses to get them, but its most controversial provision was one that said licensed recovery homes have to be at least 300 feet apart.

That distance requirement is what Newport residents wanted most. It’s been the law since 1978 for care facilities for physically and mentally disabled people, said Tiffany Conklin, Harman’s legislative director.

“It has never been held as discriminatory and it has never resulted in fewer facilities being available,� she said.

The Senate health committee voted the bill down in a Wednesday hearing, where Newport Beach Mayor Steve Rosansky testified.

But it’s a two-year bill, which means Harman can modify it and bring it up for another hearing in January, Conklin said.

He’ll work with the opposition, including Senate health committee chairwoman Sheila Kuehl, who considers the bill discriminatory, Conklin said.

State and federal laws protect housing for recovering drug addicts and alcoholics, who are classified as handicapped, so new regulations on the homes often risk a court challenge.

“Constituents throughout my district have repeatedly contacted me to express the importance of legislation to address the overconcentration of these facilities,� Harman said in a statement.

“While I am discouraged that [Senate Bill] 1000 failed to garner the necessary votes to pass committee today, I remain committed to addressing this issue in the future,� the statement said.

Conklin said two other bills, each including one of the provisions in Harman’s, have passed committee votes, but a third — all by different legislators — is dead until the legislature reconvenes in 2008.

That one also included a distance requirement for recovery homes.