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