Lawmaker hopes to revive sober home bill

TORRINGTON » Proposed legislation that would place some regulatory oversight on sober homes still has a chance to become law before the year is up.

State Rep. Michelle Cook, DTorrington, said Friday that she is aiming to include some version of H.B. 5741, “An Act Concerning Sober Living Homes,” in the bill to implement a state budget.

“I hope we get something in there,” said Cook. “There’s nothing guaranteed at this point, but there is that potential.”

She said that provisions to create a registry of sober homes and keep Narcan, an opioid overdose antidote, in homes housing individuals diagnosed with an opioid use disorder would be priorities to include in the implementer.

“I think those are vitally impor-

tant,” said Cook.

A bill which “contains the policy provisions needed to implement the state budget” is crafted at the end of each legislative session, according to the Connecticut Mirror. In 2015, the Winchester Public Schools were placed into receivership through that year’s implementer.

Cook said that the latest bill is how being put together, but is contingent on a state budget being finalized by legislators. She said that the hope is to begin a special session in the second week of September.

Multiple budget proposals have been put forward by state legislators, with the latest idea being offered

Wednesday by House Democrats.

The state government is currently being run by executive order. Gov. Dannel P. Malloy said earlier this month that cuts to municipal funding would be implemented if a budget were not adopted.

Cook said that if a version of the sober home legislation were not included in the implementer bill, she would bring the proposal up again at the beginning of a new legislative session in February.

The bill is required to educate the public and inform families about sober homes, and remind them that the homes are not medical facilities.

“I think it’s really about saving lives,” said Cook.

The House approved H.B. 5741 in June after a public hearing on the bill was

held in February. Cook introduced the bill in January, according to the General Assembly.

Among other precepts, it would require potential residents of sober homes to review and sign a form stating that “sober living homes are not licensed or certified to provide substance use disorder treatment services,” would bar operators of such homes from marketing them as medical facilities, and require that Narcan be available on site when residents diagnosed with an opiate use disorder are living there, according to the Office of Legislative Research.

The operator would have to provide the signed forms to the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and keep them at hand for three years, according to OLR.