BILLS TO STOP METHADONE CLINIC DIE IN COMMITTEE

Committee members said any new restrictions could not apply to a treatment
center planned on Hershberger Road, because the company already has a
business license and certificate of occupancy.

RICHMOND - Two General Assembly committees effectively derailed legislation
Thursday that could have prevented a methadone clinic from opening on
Hershberger Road in Roanoke, removing what may be the last major obstacle
for the controversial treatment center proposal.

But a state Senate panel endorsed a measure that could bar methadone
clinics from most of the city in the future. Lawmakers also advanced
legislation that would require the state to notify a city or county within
15 days of receiving a license application for a methadone facility.

Members of key House and Senate committees said any new restrictions could
not apply to CRC Healthgroup's plan for a treatment center on Hershberger
Road, because the company already has obtained a business license and a
certificate of occupancy.

"We have never slammed the door on any entity that has begun the process,
playing by the rules, and is significantly along in the approval process,"
said Del. Bobby Orrock, R-Spotsylvania County , a senior member of the
House Health, Welfare and Institutions Committee. "That would be the effect
of this legislation."

Orrock was referring to a bill (HB 304) sponsored by Del. William Fralin,
R-Roanoke, that would prohibit methadone clinics within a half-mile of a
school and would require the state to notify a locality within 15 days of
receiving an application from a clinic operator. Fralin's bill and an
identical measure (SB 312) sponsored by Sen. Brandon Bell, R-Roanoke
County, would have applied retroactively to the planned Hershberger Road
facility. Opponents of the proposed clinic have raised concerns that
recovering drug addicts would draw crime to the community.

House and Senate committees rejected efforts by Fralin and Bell to apply
new restrictions to the operators of the planned Hershberger clinic, which
applied for a state license in April 2002.

Reginald Jones, an attorney representing CRC subsidiary National Specialty
Clinics, reminded the Senate Education and Health Committee that the
company already had an occupancy permit and a signed lease for the
Hershberger site.

"What I'm here to ask you today is stick to the policy that I think this
General Assembly has always agreed with, and that is you don't interfere
with a contract and you don't punish someone who has acted in compliance
with the law," Jones said.

Tom Dick, Roanoke's legislative lobbyist, told both panels that the city
never had a chance to address concerns about the clinic because state law
contains no notification requirements. Dick said the city, local businesses
and residents have invested longer and more heavily in the Hershberger Road
neighborhood than the clinic's parent company.

"And through no fault of their own, because of the existing law, those
people have not had an opportunity to weigh in and be heard on this
application," Dick said.

Fralin expressed disappointment with the House committee's action, saying
he considered his bill "a good piece of public policy for the commonwealth."

"I understand the concerns of the committee, but our work up here is to
protect the citizens," the freshman delegate said.

CRC Healthgroup still must complete the requirements for a state license
and obtain approval from the Drug Enforcement Agency and the state Board of
Pharmacy, said Leslie Anderson of the Department of Mental Health, Mental
Retardation and Substance Abuse Services. That means a projected opening
date of February or March could be pushed back several months.

The Senate panel did endorse a bill (SB 607) sponsored by Sen. William
Wampler, R-Bristol, that would prohibit methadone clinics within a
half-mile of a school or state-licensed day care center if they had not
obtained a certificate of occupancy by Jan. 1. The far-reaching restriction
would block a proposed facility in Wampler's district and effectively
eliminate the possibility of additional treatment centers in Roanoke.

"It's hard enough to raise a kid today without these temptations," Wampler
said. "And to have 100 people who are afflicted with the terrible addiction
of opiates to be within eyesight of a school, I would suggest as a parent,
is not the place we need to have a clinic such as this."

The Senate committee also endorsed a bill (SB 134) by Sen. John Edwards,
D-Roanoke, that requires the state to notify localities and community
service boards when an application for a methadone clinic license is
received. The House panel backed a similar measure (HB 745) sponsored by
Del. Onz-lee Ware, D-Roanoke.

Jeff Artis, a community activist who is leading opposition to the clinic in
Northwest Roanoke, said city officials could have done more to keep the
treatment center out of the community.

Artis said the city's actions stand in stark contrast of those of Roanoke
County officials, who denied a business license for another proposed
clinic. That clinic has since dropped its plans.

"I would categorize our local government as a bunch of wimps," Artis said.
"Here, Roanoke city government decided they didn't want to get sued, so
they disrespected the African-American community and threw up their hands
and said the heck with it."

Staff writer Laurence Hammack