HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1307        FILED ON: 1/16/2013

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2029

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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PRESENTED BY:

Elizabeth A. Malia and John F. Keenan

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To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General
Court assembled:

The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill:

An Act certifying alcohol and drug free housing.

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PETITION OF:

HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 1307        FILED ON: 1/16/2013

HOUSE  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  No. 2029

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts

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In the Year Two Thousand Thirteen

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An Act certifying alcohol and drug free housing.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
 

SECTION 1.  Section 18 of chapter 17 of the general laws is hereby amended by striking out subsection (b) as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition and inserting in place thereof the following subsections: - (b) the bureau shall establish and advertise a free, anonymous and confidential toll-free telephone helpline that provides comprehensive, accurate and current information and referrals related to addiction treatment, prevention services, and alcohol and drug free housing as defined under section 18A of chapter 17 the General Laws.  The administration of the helpline shall be coordinated with other departments and agencies to prevent the duplication of similar services.  The operation of the helpline may be contracted to third parties; provided however, that any such contracts shall be performance-based and subject to the approval of the commissioner.

SECTION 2.  Chapter 17 of the general laws is hereby amended by inserting after section 18 the following section: -

Section 18A.  (1) As used in this section, the following words shall have the following meanings:

“Alcohol and drug free housing”, a residence, commonly known as a sober home, that provides a substance-free environment for people in the commonwealth who are recovering from substance abuse, but which does not provide treatment as a licensed halfway house, treatment unit, or detoxification facility under sections 6 and 7 inclusive of chapter 111E or any other facility licensed under section 7 of chapter 111E.

“Certified alcohol and drug free housing”, alcohol and drug free housing certified by the bureau.

(2) the bureau shall establish a voluntary training program for owners of alcohol and drug free housing seeking certification under paragraph (5)

(3) the bureau, upon the request of any individual or entity owning or operating alcohol and drug free housing, shall certify alcohol and drug free housing under paragraph (5);

(4) an individual or entity seeking an alcohol and drug free housing certification shall file with the bureau an application which shall include the following:  (i) proof of satisfactory completion of the voluntary training program under paragraph (2) within 5 years of the date of application; (ii) a deed, trust documents, articles of incorporation, leases or other documents acceptable to the director evidencing that the individual or entity seeking certification is the lawful owner or lessee of the parcel of real estate where the housing is or is planned to be located; (iii) a certificate under section 23 of chapter 60 of the general laws proving that there are no taxes and other assessments, including water rates and charges, and charges due to municipal lighting plants, under the provisions of sections fifty-eight B to fifty-eight F, inclusive, of chapter one hundred and sixty-four which at the time constitute liens on the parcel of real estate upon which the housing is or is planned to be located; (iv) a list certified by the police department of the municipality where the housing is or is planned to be located showing the total number and nature of police calls to the address of the housing while owned by the applicant for the year preceding the date of application; (v) written proof of satisfactory building, fire and sanitary code inspections under chapter 143 and chapter 148 conducted within 45 days of the filing of the application; (vi) photographs, certified by the applicant to have been taken within 45 days of the filing of the application, showing the exterior of the building from all sides, and showing each room, including kitchens and bathrooms; (vii) a rendering of the floor plan of the building depicting the approximate dimensions of each room; (viii) a plan certifying the maximum number of occupants proposed to reside or residing within the building at the time of application; (ix) certification of the amount of rent and the frequency of rent to be paid by occupants for the 12 months following certification of the housing by the director; (x) a certificate of good standing or tax compliance issued by the department of revenue within 45 days of the filing of the application for any individual filing the application, or for each principal officer of any entity filing the application; and, (xi) a signed criminal offender record information acknowledgement form for any individual filing the application, or for each principal officer of any entity filing the application;

(5) the bureau shall review applications for completeness and in its discretion certify the housing for one year from the date of certification as certified alcohol and drug free housing; however, the bureau shall not certify any alcohol and drug free housing if any individual applicant or any one of the principal officers of an entity filing an application has been convicted of a felony within 5 years of the date of application;

(6) the bureau shall prepare, publish and disseminate a list of alcohol and drug free housing certified under paragraph (5), updating the list each time an application results in new certified alcohol and drug free housing, but in no case less than once per month.  The list shall be disseminated to the director of the division of drug rehabilitation under chapter 111E, the commissioner of probation for dissemination to all district and superior court probation officers, and to the chief justice of the trial court for dissemination to all district and superior court judges within the commonwealth;

(7) the bureau shall create a process for soliciting and receiving complaints against certified alcohol and drug free housing and determining whether the housing shall remain on or be removed from the list prepared, published, disseminated and updated under paragraph (6); and

(8) the bureau shall prescribe and publish, pursuant to chapter 30A, rules and regulations to carry out this section.

SECTION 3. Section 19 of chapter 17 of the general laws, as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, is hereby amended in line 7 after the word “shelters” by inserting the following words: - and certified alcohol and drug free housing

SECTION 4.  Section 6 of chapter 111E of the general laws, as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out subsections 9 through 17 and inserting in place thereof the following subsections: -

(9) Cooperate with the department of probation, the trial court, and the bureau of substance abuse services established under section 18 of chapter 17 of the general laws, in preparing, publishing and disseminating a list of certified alcohol and drug free housing.

(10) Cooperate with the department of education, schools, police departments, courts, and other public agencies and private organizations and individuals in establishing programs for the prevention and treatment of drug dependency and in preparing curriculum materials for use at all levels of public school education;

(11) Prepare, publish and disseminate educational material dealing with the prevention, nature and effects of drug dependency and the benefits of rehabilitation;

(12) Develop and implement, as an integral part of treatment programs established pursuant to this chapter an educational program for use in the treatment of drug dependent persons, especially drug dependent persons who are not drug addicts, which program shall include the dissemination of factual information concerning the nature and effects of dependency related drugs and drug dependency;

(13) Organize and foster training programs for professional and nonprofessional workers in the treatment of drug dependent persons;

(14) Keep records and engage in research and the gathering of statistics relevant to the purposes of this chapter;

(15) Utilize the support and assistance of interested persons in the community, particularly rehabilitated drug dependent persons, in encouraging voluntary participation in the program by drug dependent persons and persons in need of immediate assistance due to the use of a dependency related drug;

(16) Serve as a clearinghouse for information relating to drug dependency;

(17) Approve and license public and private facilities in accordance with section forty-four; and

(18) Do all other acts and things necessary or convenient to carry out the powers expressly granted to it for the exercise of its powers and the performance of its duties.

SECTION 5. Section 12 of chapter 111E of the general laws, as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, is hereby amended in line 13 after the word “commonwealth” by inserting the following words: - If the court imposes as a condition of probation that the defendant reside in alcohol and drug free housing, that condition shall be deemed satisfied only if the defendant resides in alcohol and drug free housing certified under section 18A chapter 17 of the General Laws.

SECTION 6.  Section 87A of chapter 276 of the general laws, as appearing in the 2010 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the first sentence the following sentence: - If the court imposes as a condition of probation that the defendant reside in alcohol and drug free housing, , that condition shall be deemed satisfied only if the defendant resides in alcohol and drug free housing certified under paragraph section 18A chapter 17 of the General Laws.

SECTION 7. The provisions of this act are severable.  Should any section of this act, or regulations promulgated pursuant to this act, be declared invalid in a court of competent jurisdiction, the remaining provisions and regulations shall remain unaffected.

SECTION 8. Section 5 and section 6 of this act shall take effect two years after enactment.