Committee hears S.157 to certify recovery residences, extend reporting and expand exit rules

The Senate Health & Welfare Committee reviewed S.157 on Jan. 16, a bill that would create a certification pathway for recovery residences, require the Department of Health to adopt rules and collect annual data, and remove an existing sunset on interim exit/transfer authority.

Legislative counsel told the committee that a recovery residence meeting specified criteria — including existing certification from the Vermont Alliance Recovery Residences — could request certification from the Health Department. Certified residences would submit required annual data and the department would compile a report to the General Assembly in February.

Counsel said the bill expands the list of reasons that a resident may be immediately exited or transferred: examples include certain criminal activity, repeated refusal to engage in services or programming, theft, or violence or other behavior that threatens the health or safety of other residents or staff. The draft would require recovery residences to have a written residential agreement that specifies program rules, exit and transfer policies, and that residents acknowledge these conditions when they sign.

The bill would also strike a scheduled sunset provision so that current interim exit language would remain in place. Counsel noted that a prior two‑year report collecting exit/transfer data would be repealed and replaced by the certification report required in section 1.

Committee members and co‑sponsors said they want close scrutiny of the expanded exit grounds because some stakeholders in the field consider them potentially punitive. A member who said she had signed on as a co‑sponsor nevertheless cautioned, "I am concerned ... that it is potentially fairly punitive," and asked that the committee listen to providers and residents before finalizing language.

A speaker identifying as a recovery partner said certified recovery residences and recovery centers in the state support the bill. Committee staff said they have shared Department of Health recommendations and will continue to solicit practitioner testimony and stakeholder feedback before further action.