Governor vetoes rehab license exemption

Tim Remington, pastor of The Altar Church and appointed lawmaker for this year’s legislative session, said he was disappointed in Gov. Brad Little’s veto Tuesday of a bill that would exempt a local faith-based rehab center from state licensing.

“It was a good bill,” Remington said. “It really would have helped juveniles in this state and in our community.”

The bill, HB 340a, would have given the Good Samaritan Rehabilitation Center on Best Avenue in Coeur d’Alene an exemption from state licensing requirements. Had Little signed the bill, the center would have been able to treat children 13 to 17 years old without the red tape the licensing process brings with it.

In his veto letter, Little said the bill did not address the safety of Idaho’s children.

“This legislation does not adequately ensure necessary protections for one of our most vulnerable populations,” Little wrote, “adolescents seeking treatment for substance use disorders.”

Little also stressed he was not comfortable implementing a pilot program that has no sunset period.

“The governor did what the governor did, and I trust him,” Remington said. “If he thinks we can live without that rehab facility, I’ll have to live with that. But there’s going to be more drugs, more alcohol, more suicides, and the only answer the government is willing to give is, ‘Don’t let the churches or the communities take care of it.’ The government wants you to be licensed by the state.”

The program called for a temporary alcohol-drug abuse treatment facility as part of a pilot program that would have specialized in treatment for children with primary alcohol or drug abuse problems. Each child would have spent no more than four months in treatment, including continued care, an outdoor program and day school.

Remington was appointed to fill John Green’s seat after the Rathdrum lawmaker was convicted in federal court of conspiracy to defraud the government. Little appointed Remington to fill the seat from a list of names given to the governor’s office from the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee.

The Good Samaritan Rehabilitation Center originally treated children until the state learned the facility wasn’t licensed to treat them, forcing Remington to close Good Samaritan to teens in 2012.