H.B. 227 Summary

• Board Composition Changes: Allows alcohol, drug addiction, and mental health (ADAMH) service boards to have flexible membership sizes (9, 12, 14, 15, or 18 members instead of fixed 18 or 14) with at least half consisting of persons with lived experience or clinical expertise in mental health or addiction services.

• Recovery Housing Residences: Establishes state monitoring and regulation of recovery housing residences through certification or accreditation (not residential facility licensure) with requirements for operators to register with the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services beginning January 1, 2025.

• Terminology Updates: Replaces "alcoholism" with "alcohol use disorder" throughout the Ohio Revised Code to align with medical terminology and updates definitions of addiction services, mental health services, and recovery supports.

• Provider Accountability: Requires community addiction and mental health service providers to refer clients to recovery housing residences only if they are registered and certified/accredited, and mandates providers maintain referral records.

• Medicaid Information Sharing: Authorizes the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and Department of Medicaid to develop standards for exchanging Medicaid recipient information between boards and state agencies to coordinate services and improve program administration by December 31, 2024.