Sober living homes allege discrimination by Arizona law
PHOENIX (AP) — A group representing sober living homes in Arizona has asked a judge to overturn a 2018 state law requiring such facilities to be licensed, arguing it’s discriminatory because it puts more burdens on them than housing programs for other disabled people.
The Arizona Recovery Housing Association said in a court filing Wednesday that licensing fees for its members are almost double those for assisted living homes, nursing care institutions and other facilities.
The group alleges the law unfairly requires the homes to set up policies to protect neighborhoods from those recovering from substance abuse. The association said no other disability group licensed by the state is required to adopt such “good neighbor” policies, such as establishing procedures for managing complaints about the homes.
“The statute was designed not to benefit the providers of housing for recovering alcoholics and substance abusers, or the recovering persons themselves, but rather was enacted with discriminatory intent to protect uncomfortable neighbors from the presence of recovering persons,” the lawsuit said.
The law was passed amid complaints from neighborhood groups and others that sober living homes were a nuisance. The critics complained about loud music, foul language and cigarette butts involving sober living homes.
The association said the sober living home industry has been hurt by stereotypes about people in recovery. It portrayed the homes as places where people living together under the supervision of a house manager can maintain a sober lifestyle and emphasized that the homes aren’t treatment centers.
The Arizona Department of Health Services, which is the target of the lawsuit, declined to comment on the bid to overturn the law. Sen. Kate Brophy McGee, a Republican from Phoenix who proposed the licensing requirement but who wasn’t sued in the legal challenge, declined to comment on the group’s claims.
The Arizona Recovery Housing Association said the law has forced six sober living homes to close and countless others are expected to follow suit.
The state wouldn’t grant waivers of the licensing fees for the sober living homes and explained doing so would impose a financial burden on the Department of Health Services, the lawsuit said.
The agency has threatened sober living homes with $1,000 a day fines if licensing fees aren’t paid. The state is seeking $77,000 in fees from one home, according to the lawsuit.