Sober Home bill was signed by Governor

Palm Beach State Attorney Dave Aronberg said, “You will see a lot of the illegal marketing that drives people down here from other places will start to dry up — the free plane tickets and exaggerated claims, you’ll see far less than that. That could mean you’ll see fewer out-of-state patients than you see today, where 75 percent of all the individuals in recovery are from out of state.”

Dave Aronberg appeared on the Megyn Kelly show last Sunday. After watching this show, no parent will be sending their kids to South Florida for recovery.

Read about it... and the new state law that eventually will give us some relief. Thanks to Bill Hager and Jeff Clemens for all their help on this bill and locally to Commissioner Andy Amoroso for his work on the Sober Home Task Force.

The bills — House Bill 807 and Senate Bill 788.

Bill Hager on Sober Homes

Rep. Bill Hager keeps all of his constituents informed by sending out a newsletter. All elected officials should do this. This is a snippet out of his letter that has a special interest for us here in Lake Worth. Bill Hager in the House is the go-to guy if you have any questions on Sober Homes. Jeff Clemens is the one in the Senate.

Bill Hager says, "House Bill 807 relates to sober homes; an issue I have been working on for more than a decade. I know that this is a priority bill for our residents, and I’m pleased to say it has one more committee stop before it goes to the House Floor."

The Senate companion bill has also unanimously passed 2 committees. The bill cracks down on unethical marketing and referral practices that enable the bad operators.

HB 807

Jeff Clemens and Bill Hager join forces in Sober Home bill

Comment Up

We all have a fear of Sober homes situated in our residential neighborhoods and rightfully so. The homes are inhabited by addicts. On top of that, we have no idea how many are even in our city. They are popping up like kernels of corn as owners have found out that owning sober homes is a lucrative business.

State Senator Jeff Clemens has joined with Rep. Bill Hager, who was elected to Clemens House district after Clemens decided to run for state senator, and are teaming up to do something about Sober Homes. Together, they are working on a bill that was filed yesterday that will clean up and ban some corrupt practices and make conditions safer for the inhabitants who are being "helped."

Read Jeff's bill

The bottom-line goal, Clemens said, is to halt “a series of kickbacks” enriching unscrupulous sober home businesses and doctors, while keeping recovering addicts safe. The Legislature begins its two-month session Jan. 12.

Read about it...

Bill Hager on Sober Homes

Comment Up

HB 21, also known as the sober home bill, was signed by Governor Scott on Wednesday. This bill was a priority for House District 89 and Palm Beach County and thanks to the support of so many of my constituents and the municipalities in Palm Beach County the bill will now become law on July 1st.

I am pleased that Governor Scott recognized the problem we have in Florida, especially South Florida, and that he agreed there is a need to establish regulatory framework for sober homes. The bill is already having an impact: last month my office began receiving calls from people out of state considering establishing sober homes who wanted to make sure they would be in compliance with the new regulations. It’s a win-win for our communities and the sober home residents.

 Bill Hager

Rep Bill Hager

Hager says his most notable ambition is to pass a bill he authored that would create an oversight process to regulate sober homes at the state level. The measure failed to pass the Legislature during the 2014 session.

Read more... at BIZPAC.