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S3479
SENATE, No. 3479
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 12, 2026
Sponsored by:
Senator� JAMES BEACH
District 6 (Burlington and Camden)
SYNOPSIS
���� Requires DCA to approve credentialing entity to
develop and administer voluntary recovery residence certification program.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� As introduced.
��
An Act
concerning the voluntary certification of recovery
residences and supplementing Title
55
of the Revised Statutes.
����
Be It
Enacted
by the Senate and General Assembly of
the State of New Jersey:
���� 1.��� As used in this act:
���� �Certificate of compliance�
means a certificate
issued by the credentialing entity to a recovery residence,
which affirms that the recovery residence is in compliance with all
requirements necessary for certification
and is authorized to hold itself out to the public as a
certified recovery residence.
���� �Certified recovery residence�
means a recovery residence that holds a valid certificate of compliance issued
pursuant to this act.
���� �Certified recovery residence
administrator� means a recovery residence administrator who holds a valid
professional certification issued pursuant to this act.�
���� �Credentialing entity� means a
nonprofit organization, operating in New Jersey, which develops and administers
professional certification programs, and which is approved by the department to
develop and administer a recovery residence certification program in this
State, in accordance with the provisions of this act.�
���� �Department� means the
Department of Community Affairs.
���� �Peer-managed facility� means
a recovery residence that is not directly managed, on a day-to-day basis, by a
recovery residence administrator, but which, instead, is self-managed, on a
cooperative basis, by the residents in recovery who are renting rooms at the
facility.
���� �Professional certification�
means a certificate that is issued by the credentialing entity to a recovery
residence administrator, and which affirms that the administrator is in
compliance with all applicable professional certification requirements
and has
been deemed capable of managing a certified recovery residence.
���� �Professionally-managed
facility� means a recovery residence that is directly managed by a recovery
residence administrator
and is not a peer-managed facility.
���� �Recovery residence� means
housing with a home-like atmosphere, which is available in either a
professionally-managed facility or a peer-managed facility, and which provides
a sober living environment and alcohol and drug free living accommodations to
individuals with substance use disorders, or to individuals with co-occurring
mental health and substance use disorders, but which does not provide clinical
treatment services for mental health or substance use disorders.� �Recovery
residence� includes, but is not limited to, a facility that is commonly
referred to as a sober living home.
���� �Recovery residence
administrator� means the owner or operator of a recovery residence, who is
responsible for the overall management of the recovery residence, including,
but not limited to, the supervision of residents and staff, and who does not
reside in the recovery residence.� �Recovery residence administrator� does not
include the owner or operator of a recovery residence who manages the recovery
residence while residing therein.
���� �Recovery residence
certification program� means the program established by the credentialing
entity, pursuant to section 2 of this act, which provides for the voluntary
certification of recovery residences, and the professional certification of
recovery residence administrators.
���� �Refer� means to inform a
current or discharged patient, by any means or method, about the name, address,
or other details of a recovery residence.
���� �Substance use disorder� means
a maladaptive pattern of alcohol or drug use that leads to clinically
significant impairment or distress.� �Substance use disorder� includes drug or
alcohol abuse or drug or alcohol dependency, as confirmed by a clinical screening
and assessment instrument.
���� 2.��� a.�� (1)���� Within 120
days after the enactment of this act, the department shall approve a
credentialing entity to develop and administer a recovery residence
certification program in the State.� The recovery residence certification
program shall be developed in accordance with the provisions of this section;
shall be consistent with applicable standards adopted by the National Alliance
for Recovery Residences (NARR); and shall become operational within 180 days
after the credentialing entity is approved by the department pursuant to this
subsection.�
���� (2)�� Using a portion of the
moneys annually appropriated to the department for its purposes, the department
shall provide appropriate funds to the credentialing entity, on an annual
basis, to enable the credentialing entity to fulfill its duties and responsibilities
under this section.�
���� b.��� In developing and
implementing a recovery residence certification program, the credentialing
entity shall:
���� (1)�� establish requirements
for the voluntary certification of recovery residences, and the annual
recertification of certified recovery residences;
���� (2)�� establish requirements
for the voluntary professional certification of recovery residence
administrators, and the annual recertification of certified recovery residence
administrators;
���� (3)�� establish criminal
background check requirements for the administrators and employees of
professionally-managed facilities, as deemed by the credentialing entity to be
necessary;
���� (4)�� administer all aspects
of the recovery residence certification program, and establish procedures as
necessary to facilitate the application, certification, and annual
recertification processes used in the program;
���� (5)�� engage in the on-site
pre-certification inspection of recovery residences that apply for a
certificate of compliance;
���� (6)�� issue a certificate of
compliance to any recovery residence, upon application therefor; provided that
the recovery residence is in compliance with the provisions of subsection d. of
this section; has satisfactorily passed an on-site pre-certification inspection
conducted pursuant to paragraph (5) of this subsection; and satisfies all
additional requirements, established by the credentialing entity under
paragraph (1) of this subsection, which are necessary for certification;
���� (7)�� issue a professional
certification to any recovery residence administrator, upon application
therefor; provided that the administrator satisfies all requirements,
established by the credentialing entity under paragraph (2) of this subsection,
which are necessary for professional certification;
���� (8)�� establish procedures and
protocols for the regular monitoring and inspection of certified recovery
residences, which procedures and protocols shall, at a minimum, require the
credentialing entity to conduct at least one unannounced on-site inspection of each
certified recovery residence
as a condition of annual recertification; and
���� (9)�� establish an Internet
website to provide information to the public about the recovery residence
certification program.
���� c.���� (1)���� Within 180 days
after the recovery residence certification program becomes operational, the
credentialing entity shall publish, on the website established pursuant to
paragraph (9) of subsection b. of this section, a list that provides contact
information for all of the recovery residences that have been issued a
certificate of compliance in accordance with program requirements.� Immediately
after the publication of the list, the credentialing entity shall notify the
department that the list is publicly available.�
���� (2)�� The list of certified
recovery residences that is published pursuant to this subsection shall not
include the name or contact information of any individual resident of a
recovery residence, but shall, instead, provide contact information only for
the residence or for the owner of the residence, as deemed appropriate by the
credentialing entity.� At no point shall the credentialing entity disclose any
personally identifying information about the residents of a recovery residence.
���� (3)�� The credentialing entity
shall regularly update the list of certified recovery residences that is
published pursuant to this subsection, in order to ensure that the list
reflects the most up-to-date certification information, and omits reference to
recovery residences that have lost their certification.�
���� d.��� A recovery residence
shall not be eligible to obtain a certificate of compliance under this section,
unless it is managed by a certified recovery residence administrator, or is a
peer-managed facility.� A recovery residence that is professionally managed by
an uncertified recovery residence administrator shall remain ineligible to
obtain a certificate of compliance until such time as the recovery residence
administrator obtains professional certification pursuant to this act.� For the
purposes of expediency, the credentialing entity may consider an application
for the professional certification of a recovery residence administrator at the
same time as it is considering an application for certification of the recovery
residence.
���� e.���� A certificate of
compliance issued to a recovery residence, and a professional certification
issued to a recovery residence administrator, shall each be valid for one year
from the date of issuance.
���� f.���� (1)���� The
credentialing entity may suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew the certificate of
compliance issued to a certified recovery residence, if the credentialing
entity finds that the certified recovery residence is not in compliance with
the requirements established by the credentialing entity under paragraph (1) of
subsection b. of this section
or is no longer in compliance with the requirements of
subsection d. of this section.
���� (2)�� The credentialing entity
may suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew the professional certification issued
to a certified recovery residence administrator, if the credentialing entity
finds that the certified recovery residence administrator is not in compliance
with the requirements established by the credentialing entity under paragraph
(2) of subsection b. of this section.
���� 3.��� a.�� The department
shall update its Internet website to reflect the department�s approval of a
credentialing entity pursuant to this act.� The department�s website shall
identify the name and contact information of the credentialing entity, and
shall include a hyperlink to the credentialing entity�s Internet website,
established in accordance with paragraph (9) of subsection b. of section 2 of
this act.�
���� b.��� Within 10 days after the
department receives notice from the credentialing entity, pursuant to
subsection c. of section 2 of this act, indicating that a list of certified
recovery residences is available on the credentialing entity�s website, the
department shall take appropriate action to notify all health care
practitioners and substance use disorder treatment providers in the State about
the availability of the list and the provisions of subsection c. of this
section.�
���� c.���� (1)�� After receiving
notice, pursuant to subsection b. of this section, regarding the credentialing
entity�s publication of a list of certified recovery residences, a health care
practitioner or substance use disorder treatment provider in this State shall
be prohibited from referring a current or discharged patient to a recovery residence
unless: (a) the recovery residence is included in the list of certified
recovery residences that appears on the credentialing entity�s website; or (b)
the recovery residence is owned or operated by a licensed or certified
substance use disorder treatment provider, or by a wholly owned subsidiary
thereof, regardless of whether the recovery residence is listed as a certified
recovery residence on the credentialing entity�s website.
���� (2)�� Nothing in this
subsection shall be deemed to require a health care practitioner or substance
use disorder treatment provider to refer any patient to a recovery residence.
���� 4.��� a.�� A recovery
residence administrator or other recovery residence employee or volunteer shall
not advertise, represent, or imply to the public that the recovery residence is
a certified recovery residence unless the recovery residence has obtained a
certificate of compliance pursuant to this act.
���� b.��� A recovery residence
administrator or other recovery residence employee or volunteer shall not
advertise, represent, or imply to the public that the administrator is a
certified recovery residence administrator
unless the administrator
has obtained professional certification pursuant to this act.
���� c.���� A person who violates
the provisions of this section shall be subject to a civil penalty of up to
$1,000 for each offense.� In determining the amount of the civil penalty to be
imposed pursuant to this subsection, the department shall consider the nature,
number, and seriousness of the violations, as well as the ability of the
violator to pay the penalty, and any other factors determined to be relevant.
���� d.��� A civil penalty imposed
pursuant to this section may be collected, with costs, in a summary proceeding
initiated by the department pursuant to the �Penalty Enforcement Act of 1999,�
P.L.1999, c.274 (C.2A:58-10 et seq.).� The Superior Court and the municipal
court shall have jurisdiction to enforce the �Penalty Enforcement Act of 1999�
in connection with this act.
���� 5.��� a.�� A recovery
residence, whether or not it holds a certificate of compliance issued pursuant
to this act, shall not be considered to be a health care facility within the
meaning of the �Health Care Facilities Planning Act,� P.L.1971, c.136
(C.26:2H-1 et seq.), and shall be exempt from the provisions of P.L.1971, c.136
(C.26:2H-1 et seq.) and the rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto.
���� b.��� A recovery residence,
whether or not it holds a certificate of compliance issued pursuant to this
act, shall not be considered to be a substance use disorder treatment facility,
and shall be exempt from the provisions of P.L.1970, c.334 (C.26:2G-21 et seq.),
P.L.1975, c.305 (C.26:2B-7 et seq.), and the rules and regulations adopted
pursuant thereto.
���� c.���� A recovery residence
that holds a valid certificate of compliance, issued pursuant to this act,
shall not be considered to be a rooming or boarding house, and shall be exempt
from the provisions of the �Rooming and Boarding House Act of 1979,� P.L.1979, c.496
(C.55:13B-1 et seq.) and any rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto.�
In addition, a certified recovery residence shall be exempt from any rules and
regulations governing the operation or certification of recovery residences or
sober living homes, which rules and regulations were adopted by the Department
of Community Affairs, the Department of Health, or the Department of Human
Services prior to the effective date of this act.� This act shall supersede all
other pre-existing rules and regulations on this issue.
���� 6.��� This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
���� This bill requires the
Department of Community Affairs (DCA), within 120 days after the bill�s
enactment, to approve a credentialing entity to develop and administer a
voluntary certification program for recovery residences and recovery residence
administrators in the State.� �Recovery residence� is defined by the bill to
mean housing with a home-like atmosphere, which is available in a
professionally-managed facility (i.e., a facility that is directly managed by a
recovery residence administrator) or in a peer-managed facility (i.e., a
facility that is cooperatively self-managed by residents in recovery who are
renting rooms at the facility), and which provides a sober living environment
and alcohol and drug free living accommodations to individuals with substance
use disorders, or to individuals with co-occurring mental health and substance
use disorders, but which does not provide clinical treatment services for
mental health or substance use disorders.� The term includes, but is not
limited to, facilities that are commonly referred to as sober living homes.�
�Recovery residence administrator� is defined as the owner or operator of a
recovery residence who is responsible for the overall management of the
recovery residence, including, but not limited to, the supervision of residents
and staff, and who does not reside in the recovery residence.�
���� The bill requires the DCA to
use a portion of the monies annually appropriated thereto to provide
appropriate funds to the credentialing entity, on an annual basis, to enable
the credentialing entity to fulfill its duties and responsibilities under the bill.�
���� In developing the recovery
residence certification program (which is to become operational within 180 days
after the credentialing entity is approved by the DCA), the credentialing
entity is required to:� 1) establish requirements for the voluntary certification
of recovery residences and recovery residence administrators, as well as for
the annual recertification of certified residences and administrators; 2)
establish criminal background check requirements for the administrators and
employees of professionally-managed facilities, as deemed by the credentialing
entity to be necessary; 3) administer all aspects of the certification program
and establish procedures to facilitate the application, certification, and
annual recertification processes; 4) engage in the on-site pre-certification
inspection of recovery residences applying for certification; 5) establish
procedures and protocols for the regular monitoring and inspection of certified
recovery residences, which procedures and protocols must, at a minimum, require
at least one unannounced on-site inspection of each certified recovery
residence as a condition of annual recertification; and 6) establish an
Internet website to provide information to the public about the recovery
residence certification program.� The requirements adopted under the recovery
residence certification program are to be consistent with applicable standards
adopted by the National Alliance for Recovery Residences (NARR).
���� The credentialing entity is
required to issue a certificate of compliance to any recovery residence, upon
application therefor, provided that the residence satisfactorily passes a
pre-certification inspection, complies with all other certification requirements
established by the credentialing entity, and is either professionally managed
by a certified recovery residence administrator or is a peer-managed facility.�
A recovery residence that is professionally managed by an uncertified
administrator is not eligible to obtain a certificate of compliance until such
time as the recovery residence administrator obtains professional
certification.� The bill specifies that, for the purposes of expediency, the
credentialing entity may consider an application for the professional
certification of an administrator at the same time as it is considering an
application for certification of the recovery residence.
���� A recovery residence
administrator or other recovery residence employee or volunteer is prohibited
from advertising, representing, or implying to the public that the recovery
residence is a �certified recovery residence� unless the residence has obtained
a certificate of compliance from the credentialing entity.� Similarly, a
recovery residence administrator or other recovery residence employee or
volunteer is prohibited from advertising, representing, or implying to the
public that the administrator is a �certified recovery residence administrator�
unless the administrator has obtained a professional certification from the
credentialing entity.� Any person who violates these provisions is subject to a
civil penalty of up to $1,000 for each offense.�
���� A certificate of compliance
issued to a recovery residence, and a professional certification issued to a
recovery residence administrator, is valid for a period of one year from the
date of issuance.� The credentialing entity is authorized to suspend, revoke,
or refuse to renew a certificate of compliance issued to a recovery residence
if it finds that the residence has violated any certification requirements or
that the residence, if professionally managed, is no longer being managed by a
certified administrator.� The credentialing entity is authorized to suspend,
revoke, or refuse to renew the professional certification issued to an
administrator, if it finds that the administrator is not in compliance with the
requirements necessary to maintain such certification.
���� Within 180 days after the
recovery residence certification program becomes operational, the credentialing
entity is required to publish, on its website, a list that provides contact
information for all recovery residences that have obtained a certificate of
compliance.� The credentialing entity is to notify the DCA, immediately upon
publication, that the list is publicly available.� The bill specifies that the
published list of certified recovery residences may not include the names or
contact information of any individual resident of a recovery residence, but,
instead, is to include contact information only for the residence or the owner
of the residence, as deemed appropriate by the credentialing entity.� At no
point is the credentialing entity authorized to disclose any personally
identifying information about the residents of a recovery residence.� The
credentialing entity is required to regularly update the list of certified
recovery residences to ensure that the list reflects the most up-to-date certification
information.�
���� The DCA is similarly required
to update its website to reflect its approval of the credentialing entity and
to provide the public with the name and contact information of the
credentialing entity, as well as a link to the entity�s website.� Upon the DCA�s
receipt of notice that the credentialing entity has published a list of
certified recovery residences, the DCA is required to notify all health care
practitioners and substance use disorder treatment providers in the State about
the availability of the list and about the bill�s requirements regarding
professional referrals to recovery residences.� In particular, a health care
practitioner or substance use disorder treatment provider is prohibited from
referring a patient to a recovery residence unless the recovery residence is
listed as a certified recovery residence on the credentialing entity�s website,
or the recovery residence, whether certified or not, is owned or operated by a
licensed or certified substance use disorder treatment provider or by a wholly
owned subsidiary thereof.� However, the bill specifies that nothing in its
provisions may be deemed to require a health care practitioner or substance use
disorder treatment provider to refer any patient to a recovery residence.
���� The bill specifies that a
recovery residence, whether certified or not, may not be considered to be
either a health care facility within the meaning of the �Health Care Facilities
Planning Act,� P.L.1971, c.136 (C.26:2H-1 et seq.), or a substance use disorder
treatment facility within the meaning of P.L.1970, c.334 (C.26:2G-21 et seq.),
and P.L.1975, c.305 (C.26:2B-7 et seq.).� The bill further specifies that any
recovery residence that holds a valid certificate of compliance may not be
considered to be a rooming or boarding house, and is to be exempted from the
provisions of the �Rooming and Boarding House Act of 1979,� P.L.1979, c.496
(C.55:13B-1 et seq.).� Uncertified recovery residences are to remain subject to
applicable rooming and boarding house requirements.�
���� In addition, a certified
recovery residence is to be exempt from any rules and regulations governing the
operation or certification of recovery residences or sober living homes, which
were adopted prior to the bill�s effective date.� This bill effectively
supersedes all other pre-existing rules and regulations on this issue.