SB 526: Mental Health; the licensing and regulation of recovery residences; provide

Georgia currently has no dedicated licensing chapter for recovery residences, the peer-supported sober-living homes where people recovering from substance use disorders live together. This bill adds a new Chapter 14 to Title 37 of Georgia's mental health code creating the 'Recovery Residences Licensing Act.' It directs the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities to write minimum standards covering admission criteria, building safety, staff training, medication handling, resident rights, grievance procedures, and incident reporting, with all rules finalized by January 1, 2028. Starting January 1, 2029, operating a recovery residence without a license or provisional license becomes illegal, and unlicensed operators can face civil penalties of $100 per bed per day, doubled if they keep operating after being notified. The bill also sets up an application and inspection process, confidentiality protections for resident records similar to other treatment programs, and a public online registry of licensed homes.

• Creates a new licensing chapter (Chapter 14 of Title 37) requiring recovery residences to obtain a license from the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities starting January 1, 2029.
• Requires the department to write minimum standards by January 1, 2028 covering staff training, building safety, medication storage, resident rights, and incident reporting.
• Allows the department to issue provisional licenses lasting up to 90 days for applicants who substantially comply with licensing requirements.
• Creates civil penalties of $100 per bed per day for unlicensed recovery residences, doubled if the operator keeps running after receiving notice.
• Adds confidentiality protections for resident records and treatment communications, similar to other mental health program protections.
• Requires the department to post a public registry of licensed recovery residences on its website.

Recovery residences and their owners or operators, individuals living in sober-living housing while recovering from substance use disorders, staff who work in these facilities, and the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, which would gain new licensing, inspection, and enforcement duties.

People in recovery who live in these homes would gain state oversight of safety, staff training, and medication handling that does not currently exist. Operators would face new licensing costs and paperwork, and those who keep running without a license after 2029 could be fined heavily, changing how the recovery housing market in Georgia operates.

• Section 1 adds a definition of 'recovery residence' to existing adult residential mental health program law (O.C.G.A. § 37-2-70).
• Section 2 adds recovery residences to the department's existing licensing fee schedule (O.C.G.A. § 37-2-71).
• Section 3 creates new Code Section 37-14-4 directing the department to set minimum standards for admission, safety, staffing, medication handling, resident rights, and incident reporting.
• Section 3 sets a January 1, 2028 deadline for the department to finish all rules, and a January 1, 2029 date after which operating without a license becomes illegal (O.C.G.A. § 37-14-5, § 37-14-6).
• Section 3 creates a provisional license lasting up to 90 days for applicants who substantially meet licensing requirements (O.C.G.A. § 37-14-8).
• Section 3 sets civil penalties of $100 per bed per day for unlicensed recovery residences, doubled for continued operation after notice, appealable to superior court (O.C.G.A. § 37-14-14).
• Section 3 establishes confidentiality protections for resident records and requires periodic on-site inspections of licensed facilities (O.C.G.A. § 37-14-12, § 37-14-13).

1. 2026-02-19Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
2. 2026-02-18Senate Hopper (Senate)

• Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)Primary sponsor
• Clint Dixon (R, SD-045)
• Matt Brass (R, SD-006)
• Brian Strickland (R, SD-042)
• Billy Hickman (R, SD-004)
• Mike Hodges (R, SD-003)
• Max Burns (R, SD-023)
• Jason T. Dickerson (R, SD-021)
• Lee Anderson (R, SD-024)
• Shawn Still (R, SD-048)
• Chuck Payne (R, SD-054)
• Russ Goodman (R, SD-008)

• recovery residences
• substance use disorder treatment
• sober living homes
• mental health licensing
• addiction recovery housing