Safe Recovery and Community Empowerment Act

This bill amends the Fair Housing Act to provide that nothing in federal law relating to protections for persons with disabilities prohibits a local, state, or federal government body from:

• requiring a reasonable minimum distance between residential recovery facilities within a particular area zoned for residential housing if such requirement is necessary to preserve the residential character of the area and allows for some of such facilities to be located within such area; and
• requiring that such a facility obtain an operating license or use permit or satisfy a set of consumer protection standards, which may include a maximum capacity requirement.

A residential recovery facility is a residence that provides housing to individuals in recovery from drug or alcohol addiction with the promise of providing a clean and sober environment in return for direct or indirect payment to an owner, operator, or compensated staff person.

Facilities receiving payments from a federal health care program, or via private insurance purchased on a federal exchange or federally subsidized, for either housing, recovery services, or testing or monitoring for drugs or alcohol shall ensure that residents: (1) are provided a safe living environment completely free from illicit drugs, alcohol, firearms, harassment, abuse, or harm; and (2) live in a licensed or registered residence that has committed to following standards approved by states and localities.