Assembly BillPassed first houseHealth and Safety
AB 1779: Alcoholism and drug abuse recovery and treatment programs: inducement of participants.
What AB 1779 does, verified July 3, 2026
This bill aims to improve the regulation of alcoholism and drug abuse recovery and treatment programs. It requires laboratories, facilities, and programs to provide round-trip air transportation to participants, obtain written acknowledgment from individuals, and document the purpose and cost of the transportation. The bill also prohibits the offering of remuneration, such as stipends or gift cards, to influence or induce individuals to enter or stay in a treatment program. Additionally, facilities that offer discounted housing must provide housing certified by the National Alliance for Recovery Residences. The bill also requires the retention and annual publication of transportation information and prohibits certain practices, such as offering incentives to recruit individuals for treatment.
Bill journey
✓IntroducedComplete
✓In CommitteeComplete
✓First Chamber FloorComplete
4Second ChamberCurrent
5GovernorPending
6ChapteredPending
Last action: In committee: Set, final hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. (2026-07-01)Alert me
Author and sponsors
Full contact details, staff, and committees with Connect, $16/moUnlockRecent actions17 total · showing 5
| Jul. 01, 2026 | In committee: Set, final hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. |
| Jun. 17, 2026 | In committee: Set, second hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. |
| Jun. 01, 2026 | In committee: Set, first hearing. Hearing canceled at the request of author. |
| May. 27, 2026 | Referred to Com. on HEALTH. |
| May. 14, 2026 | In Senate. Read first time. To Com. on RLS. for assignment. |
Latest bill textAmended version, April 23, 2026 · 1,568 words
| Amended IN Assembly April 23, 2026 |
| Amended IN Assembly March 02, 2026 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 1779
| Introduced by Assembly Member Davies |
February 09, 2026 |
An act to amend Section 11831.65 of, and to add Section 11831.66 to, Sections 11831.6 and 11831.65 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to drug and alcohol programs.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1779, as amended, Davies. Alcoholism and drug abuse recovery and treatment programs: inducement of participants.
Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of drug testing laboratories and adult alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facilities and provides for the certification and regulation of adult alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment programs by the State Department of Health Care Services and authorizes the department to enforce those provisions. Existing law authorizes a facility described above to offer transportation services to an individual who is seeking recovery or treatment services only if specified conditions are met, including, among other things, that any air transportation provided to the individual includes a return ticket that may be used by the individual upon discharge and that a return ticket not used by an individual upon discharge is made available to the individual upon request for a period of one year following the individual’s discharge.
This bill would require a laboratory, facility, or program described above that provides air transportation to provide a ticket for round-trip transportation, transportation.
The bill would additionally require, as conditions on the provision of transportation services, that the cost of the recovery or treatment services are prohibitive for the individual without assistance from the laboratory, facility, or program, and would require the laboratory, facility, or program to obtain written acknowledgment by the individual that the transportation is not tied to insurance benefits or program participation, to document the purpose and cost of the transportation, to compile information related to the provision of transportation, and to annually publish the compiled information on its internet website. The bill would require a laboratory, facility, or program to retain the information for a minimum of 5 years and to provide that information to the department upon request.
The bill would prohibit a laboratory, facility, or program described above from offering or providing any form of remuneration, including, but not limited to, a stipend or gift card, for specified purposes, including, among others, to influence or induce an individual to enter or stay in a treatment or recovery program or to recruit individuals for treatment, unless otherwise specified.
Existing law requires an adult alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facility, if the facility offers an individual discounted housing following discharge, to meet specified conditions.
The bill would additionally require those facilities, if the facility offers an individual discounted housing following discharge, to offer housing that is certified by the state affiliate of the National Alliance for Recovery Residences.
Existing law prohibits facilities and programs described above and related persons from giving or receiving remuneration or anything of value for the referral of a person who is seeking alcohol or other drug recovery or treatment services.
This bill would additionally apply the prohibition described above to the inducement of a person seeking services and would clarify that the prohibition prohibits specified practices by facilities or programs, including, among others, influencing or inducing an individual to enter or stay in a treatment or recovery program and recruiting individuals for treatment, unless otherwise specified.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 11831.6 of the Health and Safety Code is amended to read:11831.6.
(a) The following persons, programs, or entities shall not give or receive remuneration or anything of value for the referral or inducement of a person who is seeking alcohol or other drug recovery or treatment services:(1) An alcohol or other drug recovery or treatment facility licensed under this part.
(2) An owner, partner, officer, or director, or shareholder who holds an interest of at least 10 percent in an alcohol or other drug recovery or treatment facility licensed under this part.
(3) A person employed by, or working for, an alcohol or other drug recovery or treatment facility licensed under this part, including, but not limited to, registered and certified counselors and licensed professionals providing counseling services.
(4) An alcohol or other drug program certified by the department in accordance with Chapter 7.1 (commencing with Section 11832).
(5) An owner, partner, officer, or director, or shareholder who holds an interest of at least 10 percent in an alcohol or other drug program certified by the department in accordance with Chapter 7.1 (commencing with Section 11832).
(6) A person employed by, or working for, an alcohol or other drug program certified by the department in accordance with Chapter 7.1 (commencing with Section 11832), including, but not limited to, registered and certified counselors and licensed professionals providing counseling services.
(b) The practices prohibited by subdivision (a) include, but are not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Influencing or inducing an individual to enter a, remain in a, or transfer between treatment or recovery programs.
(2) Securing referrals.
(3) Recruiting individuals for treatment.
(4) Increasing insurance-funded billing or patient volume.
(5) Engaging in patient brokering or similar practices.
(c) This section does not apply to clinically appropriate, evidence-based therapeutic incentives, including contingency management offered to eligible Medi-Cal members as part of the Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System.
(d) This section does not prohibit a person, program, or entity from providing an individual with educational or informational materials about community, governmental, or nonprofit resources if no remuneration is offered in exchange for treatment enrollment or continued participation.
(e) This section does not apply to the provision of housing or transportation as described in Section 11831.65.
(b)
(f) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), the department may, if it deems appropriate, implement, interpret, or make specific this section by means of provider bulletins, written guidelines, or similar instructions from the department, until regulations are adopted.
SECTION 1.SEC. 2.
11831.65.
(a) A laboratory or certified outpatient treatment program that leases, manages, or owns housing units that are offered to individuals who concurrently utilize laboratory or outpatient services shall maintain separate contracts for the housing. The contract shall clearly state that payment for housing is the responsibility of the individual and does not depend on insurance benefits. The contract shall include a repayment plan for any subsidized rent, and the laboratory or certified outpatient treatment program shall make a good faith effort to collect the debt. The offer for housing shall not depend on the individual’s agreement to receive services from either the laboratory or the certified outpatient treatment program.(b) An alcohol or other drug recovery or treatment facility licensed under this part shall only offer an individual discounted housing following discharge from the facility if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) An alcohol or other drug recovery or treatment facility and the individual enter into a written contract for housing that is separate from the contract for treatment, if the individual also pursues outpatient treatment.
(2) The contract described in paragraph (1) includes a repayment plan for any subsidized rent, and the alcohol or other drug recovery or treatment facility makes a good faith effort to collect the debt.
(3) The offer for housing is not dependent upon the individual’s agreement to attend outpatient treatment at a program that is owned or operated by the alcohol or other drug recovery or treatment facility.
(4)The offer for housing is for housing that is certified by the state affiliate of the National Alliance for Recovery Residences.
(c) A laboratory or an alcohol or other drug recovery or treatment facility licensed under this part or an alcohol or other drug recovery or treatment program certified under this part shall only offer necessary transportation services to an individual who is seeking recovery or treatment services if all of the following conditions are met:
(1) The cost of the transportation needed by the individual to receive recovery or treatment services would be prohibitive for the individual without assistance from the laboratory, facility, or program.
(1)
(2)
The assistance is not contingent upon the individual’s agreement to enroll in, remain in, or attend any particular program owned or operated by the provider.(2)
(3)
The assistance is limited to the actual cost of the transportation and does not include cash, a gift card, or other financial incentives.(3)
(4)
If ground transportation is provided, it is for a distance of less than 125 miles.(4)
(5)
(A) If air transportation is provided, the ticket is for round-trip transportation and includes a return ticket that may be used by the individual upon discharge.(B) A return ticket described in this paragraph that is not used by an individual upon discharge is made available to the individual upon request for a period of one year following the individual’s discharge.
(5)
(6)
The laboratory, facility, or program obtains written acknowledgment by the individual that the assistance described in this subdivision is not tied to insurance benefits or program participation.(6)
(7)
The laboratory, facility, or program documents the purpose and cost of the transportation described in this subdivision.Text of AB 1779 as amended, from the official record. Connect Plus keeps every version and highlights what changed.Compare versions