HB 5-CONSERVATOR OF PROTECTED PERSONS  1:41:58 PM CHAIR MCGUIRE announced the consideration of HB 5. "An Act relating to the persons who may be appointed conservators of a protected person." 1:42:22 PM REPRESENTATIVE MIKE HAWKER, Alaska State Legislature, sponsor of HB 5, introduced the bill speaking to the following sponsor statement: Current statute outlines criteria for who may be a conservator and under what circumstances they may serve as such. This responsibility is limited to certain relatives, thereby excluding other relatives. House Bill 5 helps families act in their own best interest by allowing an adult related by blood, marriage or adoption to serve as conservator. Expanding the pool of persons who could serve as a conservator will allow greater flexibility and choice for individuals and families needing this service. House Bill 5 does not change the judicial process for appointing a conservator or weaken the court's authority to act in the "best interest" of the protected person. REPRESENTATIVE HAWKER asked the committee to consider this as a small step in making it easier to secure conservatorships. It tries to help the narrow window of people who want to have an in-law or an adult related by marriage or adoption to be able to be a conservator. 1:50:01 PM CHAIR MCGUIRE stated support for the bill and explained why she is leaning toward expanding the bill further. Primarily it is to meet the situations where a potential conservator is divorced, a close friend or business partner. She provided two scenarios. First, if her father and step mother were to divorce, her step brother would be excluded from being appointed her conservator because he would no longer be related to her by marriage. This would be the case even if the court determined that a potential conflict of interest was not substantial and the appointment would be in her best interest as the protected person. The second scenario assumes she has no biological siblings who are female, but she has two life-long girlfriends who also have a common business interest. That presents an inherent potential financial conflict of interest. She said that it is ultimately about the person who needs a conservator and she believes the common law standard does that with the caveat that the court can determine that a potential conflict of interest is not substantial. She advised that she is leaning in that direction for a committee substitute (CS). SENATOR COSTELLO suggested the committee look at the matter from the perspective of a person who has been adopted and needs a conservator. The biological family is related by blood and would qualify as a potential conservator even if the adoptee was purposefully removed from that family unit. She asked if he'd thought of that. REPRESENTATIVE HAWKER replied the adoption statutes and the bill address that through the layered list of qualifiers. SENATOR COGHILL observed that the two factors are that it isn't a large conflict and that it's in the best interest of the person needing a conservator. 1:56:18 PM SENATOR COSTELLO pointed out that the exception to the exception comes from the current law which focuses on the traditional family unit of a married couple and adult children. Changing the statute to an adult related by blood expands the exception to include people who are related by blood to a person who has been adopted. She also questioned the use of the phrase "or adoption" because people don't talk about their legal children and their adopted children; they refer to their family as a unit. REPRESENTATIVE HAWKER reviewed the prioritized list and pointed out there is nothing that mandates that someone related by blood can demand the conservatorship and disregard what the protected person may want. 2:00:41 PM SENATOR MCGUIRE questioned the wisdom of creating a separate standard for anybody. SENATOR COSTELLO asked if there is a difference between a conservator and a power of attorney. REPRESENTATIVE HAWKER deferred the question to a competent attorney. He noted that Ms. Elliott had something to add. 2:03:17 PM CECILE ELLIOTT, Staff, Representative Mike Hawker, provided some background information. In 2004 the licensure of guardian and conservator statutes were amended to encourage more people to serve in this capacity, but the conflict of interest was not fully addressed. Nor was it in the Uniform Probate Code. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI observed that the statute is awkwardly written. He surmised that the issue for the in-laws is that the court sees a potential conflict in that relationship, perhaps with inheritance. He asked if that or something else is at issue. REPRESENTATIVE HAWKER agreed that the statute is cumbersome and confirmed that the point at issue is that there is no explicit provision to allow an in-law to be appointed a conservator. He advised that he had the exception drafted to minimize the changes. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI questioned the potentially broad ramifications of making this change. 2:09:21 PM CHAIR MCGUIRE stated her intent to hold the bill so members could think about potential conservators that fall outside the model. For example, someone who was her step brother for 23 years before her parents divorced wouldn't qualify because he would no longer be related to her by marriage. REPRESENTATIVE HAWKER suggested the chair asked the court how it would view the various scenarios. SENATOR COSTELLO expressed interest in knowing what other states have done and stated support for flexibility in the law to facilitate the selection of the right conservator. CHAIR MCGUIRE commented on the changing definition of family over time. 2:13:40 PM SENATOR MICCICHE joined the committee. CHAIR MCGUIRE thanked the sponsor for bringing the issue forward. She asked Ms. Meade to comment on two scenarios: a step brother no longer related by marriage and her best friend since age 17 as potential conservators. The assumption in both scenarios is that there is a conflict because she is living in their home. 2:13:53 PM NANCY MEADE, General Counsel, Administrative Staff, Alaska Court System, said her understanding of the statute is that there would be a conflict of interest under AS 13.26.210(b). Subsection (c) provides an exception to that conflict but the list of potential conservators does not include a step brother no longer related by marriage or a best friend. SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI asked how many times per year the court appoints a conservator. MS. MEADE replied it's not insubstantial and the numbers are growing as the population ages. She offered to follow up with the exact number and highlighted that conservators, guardianships, and probate as a whole is the fastest growing case type. SENATOR COSTELLO asked how often a conservator is appointed according to law, but is someone different than the protected person requested or had in mind. MS. MEADE said she didn't believe it happens very often, but that is not a reason to maintain the statute. 2:17:01 PM SENATOR WIELECHOWSKI expressed interest in getting the numbers on how many cases come up, how many times the conservator is rejected, and the grounds for the rejection to get a sense of the magnitude of the problem. MS. MEADE agreed to get the information. 2:17:50 PM MARIE DARLIN, representing AARP of Alaska, advised that the packets contain letters of support for HB 5 from AARP and the Alaska Commission on Aging. CHAIR MCGUIRE asked if AARP would support a committee substitute to entirely eliminate the qualifiers. It would simply say that if there was a conflict, the court would consider the protected person's preference to be their conservator. MS. DARLIN said she believes so and she would provide a letter. 2:19:57 PM DARIN COLBRY, representing himself, Anchorage, Alaska, testified in support of HB 5. He advised that he is Representative Hawker's constituent who brought the issue forward. His dad is his conservator and his wife wanted her father-in-law to be her conservator as well, but the court said it was a conflict of interest based on the living situation. He elaborated on the difficulties that decision has caused. 2:23:04 PM CHAIR MCGUIRE found no further testifiers and closed public testimony. She held HB 5 in committee awaiting a committee substitute (CS).