Overview
- San Francisco’s mayor and regional leaders promoted Assembly Bill 1556 at a Monday event in the city, urging permission to use state dollars for sober living housing.
- The legislation has cleared its first committees and is set for a hearing in the Assembly Appropriations Committee in the coming weeks.
- AB 1556 adds a written “return to use” policy approved by the National Alliance for Recovery Residences that offers a relapse plan or alternative housing, with eviction only if a resident refuses both.
- A similar Haney bill passed unanimously last year but Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed it after warning about new certification costs, and the state later said providers could get funds only if relapse did not trigger eviction.
- Supporters cited Wells Place, a Salvation Army-run sober apartment in San Francisco, as a working model and said stable funding could expand access to drug-free homes that help people stay in recovery.