Colorado will license recovery homes and set safety rules

The Behavioral Health Administration must license recovery residences and adopt minimum operating standards. The licensing rules apply to Colorado residences that meet the law's definition, with the listed exclusions. The definition covers housing for people with a primary behavioral health diagnosis that bars alcohol and nonprescribed or illegal drugs and provides recovery support. It excludes, among other things, permanent supportive housing, short-stay shelters, residential treatment facilities, and certain criminal justice programs. Annual application and renewal fees must cover licensing and enforcement costs. The BHA must act on a complete application within 30 days. The BHA must adopt minimum operating rules by May 1, 2027. Licenses are required starting July 1, 2027, and must be renewed each year.

Recovery residences may not reject people for taking prescribed medication, subject to a limited safety exception. These protections apply to people seeking or living in a recovery residence who use prescribed medication. A residence may not require someone to stop or taper medication-assisted treatment for a substance use disorder. For other prescribed medication, a residence may limit admission or continued stays only after an individual review finds a safety risk that reasonable accommodation cannot reduce. It may set rules for storing and administering medication to protect safety and prevent diversion.

The BHA must license qualifying Oxford House residences after receiving notice, without routine onsite licensing surveys. This special process applies only to qualifying homes chartered by Oxford House, Inc. or its successor. The residence must be chartered by Oxford House, Inc. or its successor and operate as democratically run shared housing without an operator, manager, paid staff, or professional treatment or therapy. Oxford House must report its residences, new charters, and closures to the BHA. The BHA may inspect in response to a complaint or occurrence report. Oxford House must provide its home list by July 1, 2027. Notice and occurrence reporting duties begin July 1, 2027.

Recovery residences must report specified serious events to the BHA, which must investigate appropriate reports and publish summaries. The reporting duty applies to recovery residences and covers the listed events involving their residents. Reportable events include certain resident deaths and serious injuries, abuse or neglect, misuse of a resident's property, and diversion of a resident's drugs. Abuse reports must also go to law enforcement. Reports are confidential, but the BHA must make investigation summaries, investigated complaints, and deficiency citations public without identifying the resident or health-care professional involved. Certified residences must report occurrences starting July 1, 2027. The law also requires reporting after licensure.