House Approves Kaufer’s Bill to Certify PA ‘Sober Houses’
HARRISBURG – As a matter of public safety, the House unanimously approved
House Bill 119, sponsored by Rep. Aaron Kaufer (R-Luzerne), which would require the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) to certify drug and alcohol recovery houses in Pennsylvania that receive public funding.
“This bill follows up on the great work recently done by the Certification of Drug and Alcohol Recovery Houses Task Force, which identified minimum safety standards for all recovery houses in our state,” Kaufer explained. “We need to ensure our recovery houses are meeting standards as our state’s opioid-related epidemic continues to grow. Further, we must ensure that individuals residing in these houses are in the safest, most beneficial locations they can be.”
House Bill 119, which passed on Wednesday, would create a certification process for drug and alcohol houses that receive taxpayer dollars. It would set the precedent for any reputable “sober house” that wants to continue to receive public funding and it would be a requirement before any referrals can be made to a sober house by a health care provider. The program would be established by the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs.
For more information about this legislation, or any other state-related issue, contact Kaufer’s district office in
Luzerne located at 161 Main St., by calling 570-283-1001. Information can also be found online at
RepKaufer.com or
Facebook.com/RepKaufer.
Representative Aaron Kaufer
120th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Krisinda Corbin
717.705.2032
KCorbin@pahousegop.com
RepKaufer.com /
Facebook.com/RepKaufer