Substance recovery facilities in Ohio will now be required to have licenses, thanks to legislation introduced by State Rep. Justin Pizzulli.

The legislation, House Bill 227, was in the state budget recently signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine. It creates a licensing system and sets statewide standards for recovery housing facilities. It also directs regulatory authority to local Alcohol & Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services, or ADAMH, boards.

“What it did was create a licensing system to put the power back in the hands of our local leaders,” Pizzulli said. “When there’s something shady going on, it can be reported by the community and someone can come out and address the problem and hold these folks accountable for reckless business practices.”

Pizzulli, R-Scioto County, said he had originally been approached by the Scioto County commissioners to address the issue at the state level of unregulated substance recovery facilities. As he has been traveling across the 90th House district, more local officials have broached the topic.

“As I’ve been introducing myself around to our township trustees, I’m hearing from some of the folks at the meetings and it’s one of the first things that’s brought up,” he said. “First we had the pill mills, then the opioid epidemic, now the recovery housing epidemic.”

Pizzulli said the effort is aimed at bad actors in the industry, not those working for the benefit of their clients in recovery.

“There are a lot of folks doing it the right way, too. There are great folks in the community doing great work taking care of people and helping people get the care they need,” he said, adding there are also bad actors and greedy people “who prey on our most vulnerable population when they need our support the most.”

The legislation makes it impossible for unlicensed recovery operations to receive Medicaid funding or tax dollars. It also requires Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services to maintain a registry to track licenses.