SB 101: "An Act relating to private professional conservators and private and public guardians."
00 SENATE BILL NO. 101 01 "An Act relating to private professional conservators and private and public 02 guardians." 03 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 04 * Section 1. AS 08.26.010 is amended to read: 05 Sec. 08.26.010. License required. Except as provided by AS 08.26.180, a 06 person may not engage in the business of providing services as a private professional 07 guardian or a conservator unless the person has a license issued under this chapter. 08 * Sec. 2. AS 08.26.020 is amended to read: 09 Sec. 08.26.020. Requirements for [INDIVIDUAL] private professional full 10 and partial guardian licenses [LICENSE]. The department shall issue a [AN 11 INDIVIDUAL] private professional full guardian license to an individual 12 (1) who is at least 21 years of age; 13 (2) who has two or more years of professional client casework 14 experience or at least an associate degree in human services, social work, psychology,
01 sociology, gerontology, special education, or a closely related field; 02 (3) who is certified as a guardian by a nationally recognized 03 organization in the field of guardianships; 04 (4) who provides proof satisfactory to the department that the 05 individual is able to be bonded and insured; 06 (5) whose criminal history record checks under AS 08.26.070 show 07 that the individual has not been convicted of a felony or of a misdemeanor offense 08 involving fraud, misrepresentation, material omission, misappropriation, theft, 09 or conversion in the state or in any other jurisdiction [CRIME] within 10 years 10 before [OF] the application; [THAT WOULD AFFECT THE INDIVIDUAL'S 11 ABILITY TO PROVIDE THE SERVICES OF A GUARDIAN COMPETENTLY 12 AND SAFELY FOR THE WARD; AND] 13 (6) who satisfies the application requirements of AS 08.26.060; and 14 (7) who satisfies the requirements for obtaining a private 15 professional conservator license under AS 08.26.030. 16 * Sec. 3. AS 08.26.020 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 17 (b) The department shall issue a private professional partial guardian license 18 to an individual who satisfies the requirements under (a)(1) - (6) of this section. A 19 licensed private professional partial guardian may not perform conservator services. 20 * Sec. 4. AS 08.26.030 is amended to read: 21 Sec. 08.26.030. Requirements for [INDIVIDUAL] private professional 22 conservator license. The department shall issue a [AN INDIVIDUAL] private 23 professional conservator license to an individual 24 (1) who is at least 21 years of age; 25 (2) who has obtained a high school diploma, or a general education 26 development diploma or its equivalent; 27 (3) who has six months' employment experience in a position 28 involving financial management, or has at least an associate degree in accounting or a 29 closely related field; 30 (4) who is certified as a guardian by a nationally recognized 31 organization in the field of guardianships;
01 (5) who provides proof satisfactory to the department that the 02 individual is able to be bonded and insured; 03 (6) whose criminal history record checks under AS 08.26.070 show 04 that the individual [PERSON] has not been convicted of a felony or of a 05 misdemeanor offense involving fraud, misrepresentation, material omission, 06 misappropriation, theft, or conversion in the state or in any other jurisdiction 07 [CRIME] within 10 years before the application [THAT WOULD AFFECT THE 08 INDIVIDUAL'S ABILITY TO PROVIDE THE SERVICES OF A CONSERVATOR 09 COMPETENTLY AND SAFELY FOR THE PROTECTED PERSON]; and 10 (7) who satisfies the application requirements of AS 08.26.060. 11 * Sec. 5. AS 08.26.060 is amended to read: 12 Sec. 08.26.060. Application requirements. To apply for a license under this 13 chapter, a person shall submit an application on a form provided by the department 14 and submit 15 (1) two complete fingerprint cards containing fingerprints and other 16 information required by the Department of Public Safety to obtain state and national 17 criminal history record information under AS 12.62 and AS 12.64; [THE 18 FINGERPRINTS MUST BE THE FINGERPRINTS OF THE APPLICANT IF THE 19 APPLICANT IS AN INDIVIDUAL, OR, IF THE APPLICANT IS AN 20 ORGANIZATION, FINGERPRINTS OF THE 21 (A) OFFICERS OF THE ORGANIZATION, IF THE 22 APPLICANT IS A CORPORATION; 23 (B) MEMBERS OF THE ORGANIZATION, IF THE 24 APPLICANT IS A LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY; 25 (C) PARTNERS OF THE ORGANIZATION, IF THE 26 APPLICANT IS A PARTNERSHIP;] 27 (2) proof of professional liability insurance and the ability to obtain 28 a surety bond if ordered by a court [THE ABILITY TO BE INSURED AND 29 BONDED]; 30 (3) a written waiver of confidentiality signed by the applicant allowing 31 the department to access at any time relevant complaint information made about the
01 applicant to adult protective services, the designated protection and advocacy agency, 02 the long-term care ombudsman, or an entity that certifies or licenses private 03 professional guardians or private professional conservators; 04 (4) a written statement signed by the applicant that the applicant will 05 allow immediate access at any time to the department to the file of a ward or protected 06 person and to financial information regarding the applicant, including corporate or 07 other business records; 08 (5) a detailed resume, including relevant experience, for each 09 employee and contractor of the applicant who may provide services to a ward or 10 protected person; and 11 (6) payment of the application fee, any criminal history record 12 information checks fee charged under AS 12.62.160(d), and any other fees required by 13 the department [; AND 14 (7) IF THE APPLICANT IS NOT AN INDIVIDUAL, A COPY OF 15 THE DOCUMENTS UNDER WHICH THE APPLICANT WAS FORMED, 16 INCLUDING ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION AND BYLAWS IF THE 17 APPLICANT IS A CORPORATION]. 18 * Sec. 6. AS 08.26.080 is amended to read: 19 Sec. 08.26.080. Annual report. Within 30 days following the end of each 20 calendar year, a licensee shall submit to the department 21 (1) evidence of the [INITIAL AND] continuing existence of a court 22 ordered bond, if any, and professional liability insurance [REQUIRED BY A 23 COURT] to be maintained by the guardian or conservator; 24 (2) a list, including case numbers, of the wards and protected persons 25 for whom the licensee is acting as a private professional guardian or private 26 professional conservator; 27 (3) an accurate financial statement of the licensee, including total fees 28 collected from the protected person, total business expenses, and documents 29 necessary to establish financial solvency; 30 (4) a letter stating that the licensee has filed all required court reports 31 in the previous calendar year; and
01 (5) a copy of all of the licensee's federal tax documents filed with the 02 Internal Revenue Service and all of the licensee's correspondence with the Internal 03 Revenue Service for the calendar year [; AND 04 (6) A LIST OF ALL PERSONS CURRENTLY EMPLOYED BY 05 THE LICENSEE IN THE BUSINESS FOR WHICH THE LICENSE WAS ISSUED]. 06 * Sec. 7. AS 08.26.100 is amended to read: 07 Sec. 08.26.100. Court appointment. An individual [A PERSON] who 08 engages in the business of providing services as a private guardian or conservator 09 may not be appointed as a guardian or a conservator in a court proceeding unless the 10 individual [PERSON] is licensed under this chapter or exempt under AS 08.26.180. 11 * Sec. 8. AS 08.26.130 is amended to read: 12 Sec. 08.26.130. Grounds for disciplinary action. The department may take 13 disciplinary action against an individual [A PERSON] under AS 08.01.075 or refuse 14 to issue or renew a license if the department determines that the individual 15 [PERSON] 16 (1) obtained or attempted to obtain a license under this chapter through 17 deceit, fraud, or intentional misrepresentation; 18 (2) has not complied with the standards of conduct established by the 19 department under AS 13.26.001; 20 (3) forfeited a license in this or another jurisdiction as a result of 21 deceit, fraud, intentional misrepresentation, or professional incompetence; 22 (4) has been found by a court in this state to have engaged in 23 professional misconduct or incompetence; 24 (5) has advertised the individual's [ITS] services in a false or 25 misleading manner; 26 (6) has been convicted, including a conviction based on a guilty plea or 27 plea of nolo contendere, of a felony or other crime that affects the individual's 28 [PERSON'S] ability to provide [THE LICENSEE'S] services competently and safely 29 for the ward or protected person; 30 (7) has been found to have abandoned, exploited, abused, or neglected 31 a vulnerable adult; in this paragraph, "vulnerable adult" has the meaning given in
01 AS 47.24.900; 02 (8) has failed to comply with this chapter or with a regulation adopted 03 under this chapter; 04 (9) has continued or attempted to practice after becoming unfit due to 05 professional incompetence; 06 (10) has failed to maintain certification by a nationally recognized 07 organization in the field of 08 (A) guardianships, if the individual [PERSON] was issued a 09 [AN INDIVIDUAL] private professional guardian license; or 10 (B) conservatorships, if the individual was issued a [AN 11 INDIVIDUAL] private professional conservator license; or 12 (11) is not able to be bonded and insured [; OR 13 (12) IF THE LICENSEE HAS AN ORGANIZATIONAL LICENSE, 14 (A) DOES NOT MAINTAIN A PLACE OF BUSINESS IN 15 THIS STATE; 16 (B) IS NOT IN COMPLIANCE WITH THE STATE AND 17 FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS THAT APPLY TO THE ORGANIZATION; 18 OR 19 (C) HAS AN EMPLOYEE WHO PROVIDES THE 20 SERVICES OF A PRIVATE PROFESSIONAL GUARDIAN OR PRIVATE 21 PROFESSIONAL CONSERVATOR FOR THE ORGANIZATION AND IS 22 NOT LICENSED UNDER THIS CHAPTER]. 23 * Sec. 9. AS 08.26.180 is amended to read: 24 Sec. 08.26.180. Exemption. An individual who is employed by a [A] 25 financial institution regulated by the federal government or a financial institution 26 regulated under AS 06 by the department is not required to be licensed under this 27 chapter in order to engage, in the course of the individual's employment by the 28 financial institution, in the business of providing services as a guardian or a 29 conservator or be appointed as a private professional guardian or a private professional 30 conservator by a court. In this section [SUBSECTION], "financial institution" does 31 not include a person who is exempt under AS 06.26.020 or who has received an
01 exemption under AS 06.26.200. 02 * Sec. 10. AS 08.26.190 is amended to read: 03 Sec. 08.26.190. Definitions. In this chapter, 04 (1) "conservator" has the meaning given in AS 13.06.050; 05 (2) "department" means the Department of Commerce, Community, 06 and Economic Development; 07 (3) "guardian" has the meaning given in AS 13.06.050; 08 (4) "licensee" means a person licensed under this chapter; 09 (5) ["ORGANIZATIONAL LICENSE" MEANS A LICENSE 10 ISSUED UNDER AS 08.26.040; 11 (6)] "private professional conservator" means an individual [A 12 PERSON] who acts as a conservator under AS 13.26.165 - 13.26.320 and receives 13 compensation for acting in that capacity for an individual who is not an immediate 14 family member of the conservator; 15 (6) [(7)] "private professional conservator license" means a license 16 issued under AS 08.26.030; 17 (7) [(8)] "private professional guardian" means an individual [A 18 PERSON] who acts as a guardian under AS 13.26.030 - 13.26.155 and receives 19 compensation for acting in that capacity for an individual who is not an immediate 20 family member of the guardian; 21 (8) [(9)] "private professional guardian license" means a license issued 22 under AS 08.26.020; 23 (9) [(10)] "protected person" has the meaning given in AS 13.26.005; 24 (10) [(11)] "ward" has the meaning given in AS 13.26.005. 25 * Sec. 11. AS 13.26.400 is amended to read: 26 Sec. 13.26.400. Staff; delegation of powers and duties. The public guardian 27 may employ staff and delegate to members of the staff or to volunteers the powers and 28 duties as guardian or conservator and other powers and duties under this chapter. 29 However, the public guardian retains responsibility for the proper performance of the 30 delegated powers and duties. The public guardian may only delegate powers and 31 duties under this chapter to an individual who meets [ALL DELEGATIONS
01 SHALL BE TO PERSONS WHO MEET] the eligibility requirements of 02 AS 13.26.145 and has passed the criminal history record information check 03 under AS 08.26.070. In addition, the individual must either hold a current 04 certification as a guardian from a nationally recognized organization at the time 05 of the delegation or apply for and receive that certification within one year of the 06 delegation. 07 * Sec. 12. AS 08.26.040 is repealed. 08 * Sec. 13. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 09 read: 10 TRANSITION. A person who is not an individual who, on the effective date of this 11 Act, has a current organizational license issued by the Department of Commerce, Community, 12 and Economic Development under AS 08.26.040 may continue to provide guardianship and 13 conservatorship services under the requirements of AS 08.26 until the license expires. Each 14 individual who, on the effective date of this Act, performs guardianship or conservatorship 15 services under a current organizational license must apply for and receive an individual 16 license issued under AS 08.26 within 60 days after the expiration of the organizational license 17 in order to continue to provide guardianship or conservatorship services.