The Orange County Board of Supervisors Tuesday approved an ordinance requiring sober-living facilities to register with the county, a proposal District Attorney Tony Rackauckas fought for to crack down on bad actors in the industry, which has thrived in coastal cities.
The board voted 3-1, with Supervisor Shawn Nelson voting no and Supervisor Todd Spitzer absent.
Unlike their last meeting when they preliminarily approved the ordinance, there was no debate among the supervisors this time.
Nelson previously argued that the registry, which would go beyond state requirements, would prompt a lawsuit that will overturn it. Nelson also argued that the registry would be redundant because the state already requires it, but no county has bothered to implement it.
Spitzer previously criticized Rackauckas for pulling together a slap-dash ordinance as a political stunt before the election, a claim Rackauckas denied. He said the ordinance had been in the works throughout much of the year.
Rackauckas has said some sober living facilities recruit clients nationally and when their insurance coverage runs out they are booted out and end up homeless in the area.
Spitzer also raised concerns about how the program will be funded. The Health Care Agency will absorb the cost of creating the registry in its budget this year until officials can develop a fee to pay for it.
Rackauckas said the registry will help his office gather more information about the businesses that could be used to root out unscrupulous operators.
