HB 1303 2023
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to substance abuse and mental health 2
services; amending s. 397.487, F.S.; conforming a 3
provision to changes made by the act; revising 4
requirements relating to the removal and replacement 5
of certified recovery residence administrators; 6
revising requirements relating to credentialing 7
entities denying, revoking, or suspending 8
certifications or imposing sanctions on a recovery 9
residence; requiring the Department of Children and 10
Families to adopt rules; requiring that changes to 11
certification requirements by credentialing entities 12
be adopted by department rule before the change is 13
effective and enforceable; amending s. 397.4871, F.S.; 14
authorizing credentialing entities to approve certain 15
certified recovery residence administrators to 16
actively manage up to a specified number of residents 17
if certain requirements are met; prohibiting certain 18
certified recovery residence administrators who have 19
been removed from a recovery residence from continuing 20
to actively manage more than a specified number of 21
residents without being reapproved by a credentialing 22
entity; creating the Substance Abuse and Mental Health 23
Treatment and Housing Task Force within the Department 24
of Children and Families; providing a purpose for the 25
HB 1303 2023
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task force; specifying membership of the task force; 26
requiring the task force to meet at specified 27
intervals; requiring the task force to conduct a 28
specified study and review; requiring the task force 29
to submit a report to the department by a specified 30
date; requiring the department to submit a r eport to 31
the Governor and the Legislature by a specified date; 32
exempting certain recovery residences from certain 33
zoning laws and ordinances for a specified timeframe; 34
providing for expiration of the task force; providing 35
an effective date. 36
37
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 38
39
Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) and paragraphs 40
(b) and (e) of subsection (8) of section 397.487, Florida 41
Statutes, are amended, and paragraph (f) is added to that 42
subsection, to read: 43
397.487 Voluntary certification of recovery residences. — 44
(2) The department shall approve at least one 45
credentialing entity by December 1, 2015, for the purpose of 46
developing and administering a voluntary certification program 47
for recovery residences. The appr oved credentialing entity 48
shall: 49
(a) Establish recovery residence certification 50
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requirements. However, any change to certification requirements 51
on or after October 1, 2023, must be adopted by department rule 52
pursuant to paragraph (8)(f). 53
(8) Onsite followup monitoring of a certified recovery 54
residence may be conducted by the credentialing entity to 55
determine continuing compliance with certification requirements. 56
The credentialing entity shall inspect each certified recovery 57
residence at least annually t o ensure compliance. 58
(b) A certified recovery residence must notify the 59
credentialing entity within 3 business days after the removal of 60
the recovery residence's certified recovery residence 61
administrator due to termination, resignation, or any other 62
reason. The recovery residence has 90 30 days to retain a 63
certified recovery residence administrator. If a recovery 64
residence's certified recovery residence administrator has been 65
removed due to termination, resignation, or any other reason and 66
had been approved to actively manage more than 50 residents 67
pursuant to s. 397.4871(8), the recovery residence must retain 68
another certified recovery residence administrator within 90 69
days to continue to manage the approved additional number of 70
residents. The credentialing entity shall revoke the certificate 71
of compliance of any recovery residence that fails to comply 72
with this paragraph. 73
(e) Any decision by a department -recognized credentialing 74
entity to deny, revoke, or suspend a certification, or otherwise 75
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impose sanctions on a recovery residence , must be initiated by a 76
formal notice provided to the recovery residence, and the 77
credentialing agency must take final action within 30 days after 78
the initial notification , is reviewable by the department . Upon 79
receiving an adverse determination, the recovery residence may 80
request an administrative hearing pursuant to ss. 120.569 and 81
120.57 ss. 120.569 and 120.57(1) within 30 days after final 82
action taken completing any appeals process offered by the 83
credentialing entity or t he department, as applicable. 84
(f) Effective October 1, 2023, the department shall adopt 85
by rule the certification requirements established by 86
credentialing entities which are in effect on that date. Any 87
changes to certification requirements by a credenti aling entity 88
on or after October 1, 2023 must be adopted by department rule 89
before such change is effective and enforceable by credentialing 90
entities. 91
Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (8) of section 92
397.4871, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 93
397.4871 Recovery residence administrator certification. — 94
(8) 95
(b)1. A certified recovery residence administrator may not 96
actively manage more than 50 residents at any given time unless 97
written justification is provided to, and approved by, the 98
credentialing entity as to how the administrator is able to 99
effectively and appropriately respond to the needs of the 100
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residents, to maintain residence standards, and to meet the 101
residence certification requirements of this section. However, a 102
certified recovery residence administrator may not actively 103
manage more than 100 residents at any given time except as 104
provided in subparagraph 2 . 105
2. A credentialing entity may approve a certified recovery 106
residence administrator to actively manage up to 250 residents 107
if such administrator has been approved to actively manage 100 108
residents under subparagraph 1., if such administrator's 109
recovery residence is wholly owned or controlled by a licensed 110
service provider, and if the licensed service provider maintains 111
a ratio of at least one staff member to eight residents. A 112
certified recovery residence administrator approved under this 113
subparagraph who has been removed by a recovery residence due to 114
termination, resignation, or any other reason may not continue 115
to actively manage more than 100 residents for another recovery 116
residence without being reapproved by the credentialing entity 117
pursuant to this subparagraph. 118
Section 3. (1) The Substance Abuse and Mental Health 119
Treatment and Housing Task Force, a task force as defined in s. 120
20.03(8), Florida Statutes, is created within the Department of 121
Children and Families. The purpose of the task force is to study 122
issues relating to the regulation of licensed private sector 123
substance abuse and mental health treatment service provide rs 124
and ancillary therapeutic housing in this state and provide 125
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recommended changes to provide best -in-class services with 126
limited governmental intrusion. Except as otherwise provided in 127
this section, the task force shall operate in a manner 128
consistent with s. 20.052, Florida Statutes. 129
(2) The task force is composed of nine members, as 130
follows: 131
(a) A representative of the Executive Office of the 132
Governor, appointed by the Governor. 133
(b) A member of the Senate, appointed by the President of 134
the Senate. 135
(c) A member of the House of Representatives, appointed by 136
the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 137
(d) A representative of the Office of the Attorney 138
General, appointed by the Governor. 139
(e) A representative of the Chief Financial Officer, 140
appointed by the Governor. 141
(f) A representative of the Palm Beach County State 142
Attorney Addiction Recovery Task Force, appointed by the 143
Governor. 144
(g) A representative of the Florida Association of 145
Recovery Residences, appointed by the Governor. 146
(h) A representative of the treatment industry, appointed 147
by the Governor. 148
(i) A member of The Florida Bar with knowledge and 149
experience in the treatment and therapeutic housing industry, 150
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appointed by the Governor. 151
(3) The task force shall appoint a chair and vice -chair 152
and meet no less than monthly. 153
(4)(a) The task force, with assistance from the Department 154
of Children and Families, shall conduct a study to evaluate the 155
impact of chapter 419, Florida Statutes, on treatment services, 156
to identify obstacles to prov iding all forms of therapeutic, 157
medical, and clinical housing in this state to residents of this 158
state, and to identify any compliance issues with the federal 159
Americans with Disabilities Act and the federal Fair Housing 160
Amendments Act of 1988. 161
(b) The task force shall conduct a review of statewide 162
zoning codes to determine the effect, if any, that local 163
regulations have on the ability of private sector licensed 164
service providers to provide modern, effective, evidence -based 165
treatment and ancillary therapeu tic housing to residents of this 166
state. 167
(5)(a) By December 31, 2024, the task force shall submit 168
to the Department of Children and Families a report of its 169
findings and recommendations, including any recommended 170
amendments to chapter 419, Florida Statute s. 171
(b) By June 30, 2025, the Department of Children and 172
Families shall submit a report of the task force's findings and 173
recommendations, and any additional findings and recommendations 174
made by the department, to the Governor, the President of the 175
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Senate, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives. 176
(6) From July 1, 2023, until July 1, 2026, any recovery 177
residence certified by the approved credentialing entity 178
pursuant to s. 397.487, Florida Statutes, is exempt from state 179
or local zoning laws or ordi nances, including the requirements 180
of chapter 419, Florida Statutes, which do not apply to all 181
other single-family and multifamily dwellings. 182
(7) This section expires July 1, 2026. 183
Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023. 184