Bill Text: FL S1226 | 2015 | Regular Session | Comm Sub
Bill Title: Guardianship
Spectrum:
Status: (Failed) 2015-04-28 - Died in Messages [S1226 Detail]
Download: Florida-2015-S1226-Comm_Sub.html
Florida Senate - 2015 CS for SB 1226 By the Committee on Fiscal Policy; and Senator Detert 594-04421-15 20151226c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to guardianship; providing directives 3 to the Division of Law Revision and Information; 4 amending s. 744.1012, F.S.; revising legislative 5 intent; renumbering s. 744.201, F.S.; renumbering and 6 amending s. 744.202, F.S.; conforming a cross 7 reference; renumbering s. 744.2025, F.S.; renumbering 8 and amending s. 744.7021, F.S.; revising the 9 responsibilities of the executive director for the 10 Office of Public and Professional Guardians; 11 conforming provisions to changes made by the act; 12 renumbering and amending s. 744.1083, F.S.; removing a 13 provision authorizing the executive director to 14 suspend or revoke the registration of a guardian who 15 commits certain violations; removing the requirement 16 of written notification to the chief judge of the 17 judicial circuit upon the executive director’s denial, 18 suspension, or revocation of a registration; 19 conforming provisions to changes made by the act; 20 conforming a cross-reference; renumbering and amending 21 s. 744.1085, F.S.; removing an obsolete provision; 22 conforming provisions to changes made by the act; 23 conforming a cross-reference; creating s. 744.2004, 24 F.S.; requiring the Office of Public and Professional 25 Guardians to adopt rules; requiring the office, under 26 certain circumstances, to make a specified 27 recommendation to a court of competent jurisdiction; 28 renumbering and amending s. 744.344, F.S.; requiring 29 that a professional guardian appointed by a court to 30 represent a ward be selected from a registry of 31 professional guardians; requiring the chief judge of a 32 circuit court to compile a list of professional 33 guardians by county and provide the list to the clerk 34 of court in each county; providing requirements for 35 inclusion in the registry; providing procedures for a 36 court to appoint a professional guardian; providing an 37 exception; requiring the clerk of the court to 38 maintain the registry and provide the court with the 39 name of a professional guardian for appointment; 40 renumbering and amending s. 744.703, F.S.; conforming 41 provisions to changes made by the act; renumbering ss. 42 744.704 and 744.705, F.S.; renumbering and amending 43 ss. 744.706 and 744.707, F.S.; conforming provisions 44 to changes made by the act; renumbering s. 744.709, 45 F.S.; renumbering and amending s. 744.708, F.S.; 46 conforming provisions to changes made by the act; 47 renumbering and amending s. 744.7081, F.S.; providing 48 the Office of Public and Professional Guardians with 49 access to all court records relating to guardianship 50 cases for which a professional guardian is appointed; 51 providing that the office may access such records 52 through all available means; conforming provisions to 53 changes made by the act; renumbering and amending s. 54 744.7082, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made 55 by the act; renumbering and amending s. 744.712, F.S.; 56 providing legislative intent; conforming provisions; 57 renumbering and amending ss. 744.713, 744.714, and 58 744.715, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made 59 by the act; repealing s. 744.701, F.S.; relating to a 60 short title; repealing s. 744.702, F.S.; relating to 61 legislative intent; repealing s. 744.7101, F.S.; 62 relating to a short title; repealing s. 744.711, F.S.; 63 relating to legislative findings and intent; amending 64 ss. 400.148, 744.3135, and 744.331, F.S.; conforming 65 provisions to changes made by the act; amending ss. 66 20.415, 415.1102, and 744.524, F.S.; conforming cross 67 references; making technical changes; providing an 68 appropriation; providing an effective date. 69 70 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 71 72 Section 1. The Division of Law Revision and Information is 73 directed to add ss. 744.1096-744.1098, Florida Statutes, created 74 by this act, to part I of chapter 744, Florida Statutes. 75 Section 2. The Division of Law Revision and Information is 76 directed to retitle part II of chapter 744, Florida Statutes, 77 consisting of ss. 744.2001-744.2109, Florida Statutes, as 78 “PUBLIC AND PROFESSIONAL GUARDIANS.” 79 Section 3. The Division of Law Revision and Information is 80 directed to remove part IX of chapter 744, Florida Statutes. 81 Section 4. Section 744.1012, Florida Statutes, is amended 82 to read: 83 744.1012 Legislative intent.—The Legislature finds: 84 (1) That adjudicating a person totally incapacitated and in 85 need of a guardian deprives such person of all her or his civil 86 and legal rights and that such deprivation may be unnecessary. 87 (2)The Legislature further findsThat it is desirable to 88 make available the least restrictive form of guardianship to 89 assist persons who are only partially incapable of caring for 90 their needs and that alternatives to guardianship and less 91 intrusive means of assistance should always be explored, 92 including, but not limited to, guardian advocates, before an 93 individual’s rights are removed through an adjudication of 94 incapacity. 95 (3) By recognizing that every individual has unique needs 96 and differing abilities, the Legislature declares that it is the 97 purpose of this act to promote the public welfare by 98 establishing a system that permits incapacitated persons to 99 participate as fully as possible in all decisions affecting 100 them; that assists such persons in meeting the essential 101 requirements for their physical health and safety, in protecting 102 their rights, in managing their financial resources, and in 103 developing or regaining their abilities to the maximum extent 104 possible; and that accomplishes these objectives through 105 providing, in each case, the form of assistance that least 106 interferes with the legal capacity of a person to act in her or 107 his own behalf. This act shall be liberally construed to 108 accomplish this purpose. 109 (4) That private guardianship is inadequate where there is 110 no willing and responsible family member or friend, other 111 person, bank, or corporation available to serve as guardian for 112 an incapacitated person, and such person does not have adequate 113 income or wealth for the compensation of a private guardian. 114 (5) The Legislature intends, through the establishment of 115 the Office of Public and Professional Guardians, to permit the 116 establishment of offices of public guardians for the purpose of 117 providing guardianship services for incapacitated persons when 118 no private guardian is available. 119 (6) That a public guardian be provided only to those 120 persons whose needs cannot be met through less drastic means of 121 intervention. 122 Section 5. Section 744.201, Florida Statutes, is renumbered 123 as section 744.1096, Florida Statutes. 124 Section 6. Section 744.202, Florida Statutes, is renumbered 125 as section 744.1097, Florida Statutes, and subsection (3) of 126 that section is amended to read: 127 744.1097744.202Venue.— 128 (3) When the residence of an incapacitated person is 129 changed to another county, the guardian shall petition to have 130 the venue of the guardianship changed to the county of the 131 acquired residence, except as provided in s. 744.1098s.132744.2025. 133 Section 7. Section 744.2025, Florida Statutes, is 134 renumbered as section 744.1098, Florida Statutes. 135 Section 8. Section 744.7021, Florida Statutes, is 136 renumbered as section 744.2001, Florida Statutes, and amended to 137 read: 138 744.2001744.7021Statewide Public GuardianshipOffice of 139 Public and Professional Guardians.—There is hereby created the 140Statewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional 141 Guardians within the Department of Elderly Affairs. 142 (1) The Secretary of Elderly Affairs shall appoint the 143 executive director, who shall be the head of theStatewide144Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional Guardians. 145 The executive director must be a member of The Florida Bar, 146 knowledgeable of guardianship law and of the social services 147 available to meet the needs of incapacitated persons, shall 148 serve on a full-time basis, and shall personally, or through a 149 representativerepresentativesof the office, carry out the 150 purposes and functions of theStatewide Public Guardianship151 Office of Public and Professional Guardians in accordance with 152 state and federal law. The executive director shall serve at the 153 pleasure of and report to the secretary. 154 (2) The executive director shall, within available 155 resources:,156 (a) Have oversight responsibilities for all public and 157 professional guardians. 158 (b) Review the standards and criteria for the education, 159 registration, and certification of public and professional 160 guardians in Florida. 161 (3) The executive director’s oversight responsibilities of 162 professional guardians shall include, but not be limited to: 163 (a) The development and implementation of a monitoring tool 164 to be used for periodic monitoring activities of professional 165 guardians related to the management of their wards. This 166 monitoring may not include a financial audit as required by the 167 clerk of the circuit court under s. 744.368. 168 (b) The development of procedures, in consultation with 169 professional guardianship associations, for the review of an 170 allegation that a professional guardian has violated an 171 applicable statute, fiduciary duty, standard of practice, rule, 172 regulation, or other requirement governing the conduct of 173 professional guardians. 174 (c) Establish disciplinary proceedings, conduct hearings, 175 and take administrative action pursuant to chapter 120. 176 (d) Assist the chief judge in each judicial circuit to 177 establish a registry to allow for the appointment of 178 professional guardians in rotating order as provided in s. 179 744.2005. 180 (4) The executive director’s oversight responsibilities of 181 public guardians shall include, but not be limited to: 182 (a) Theexecutive director shallreview of the current 183 public guardian programs in Florida and other states. 184 (b) The developmentexecutive director, in consultation 185 with local guardianship offices, ofshall developstatewide 186 performance measures and standards. 187 (c) Theexecutive director shallreview ofthevarious 188 methods of funding public guardianship programs, the kinds of 189 services being provided by such programs, and the demographics 190 of the wards. In addition, the executive director shall review 191 and make recommendations regarding the feasibility of recovering 192 a portion or all of the costs of providing public guardianship 193 services from the assets or income of the wards. 194 (d) By January 1 of each year, providingthe executive195director shall providea status report and providingprovide196 further recommendations to the secretary that address the need 197 for public guardianship services and related issues. 198 (e) In consultation with the Florida State Guardianship 199 Association, the development of a guardianship training program 200 curriculum that may be offered to all guardians, whether public 201 or private. 202 (5) The executive director may provide assistance to local 203 governments or entities in pursuing grant opportunities. The 204 executive director shall review and make recommendations in the 205 annual report on the availability and efficacy of seeking 206 Medicaid matching funds. The executive director shall diligently 207 seek ways to use existing programs and services to meet the 208 needs of public wards. 209(f) The executive director, in consultation with the210Florida Guardianship Foundation, shall develop a guardianship211training program curriculum that may be offered to all guardians212whether public or private.213 (6)(3)The executive director may conduct or contract for 214 demonstration projects authorized by the Department of Elderly 215 Affairs, within funds appropriated or through gifts, grants, or 216 contributions for such purposes, to determine the feasibility or 217 desirability of new concepts of organization, administration, 218 financing, or service delivery designed to preserve the civil 219 and constitutional rights of persons of marginal or diminished 220 capacity. Any gifts, grants, or contributions for such purposes 221 shall be deposited in the Department of Elderly Affairs 222 Administrative Trust Fund. 223 Section 9. Section 744.1083, Florida Statutes, is 224 renumbered as section 744.2002, Florida Statutes, subsections 225 (1) through (5) of that section are amended, and subsections (7) 226 and (10) of that section are republished, to read: 227 744.2002744.1083Professional guardian registration.— 228 (1) A professional guardian must register with the 229Statewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional 230 Guardians established in part IIIXof this chapter. 231 (2) Annual registration shall be made on forms furnished by 232 theStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and 233 Professional Guardians and accompanied by the applicable 234 registration fee as determined by rule. The fee may not exceed 235 $100. 236 (3) Registration must include the following: 237 (a) Sufficient information to identify the professional 238 guardian, as follows: 239 1. If the professional guardian is a natural person, the 240 name, address, date of birth, and employer identification or 241 social security number of the person. 242 2. If the professional guardian is a partnership or 243 association, the name, address, and employer identification 244 number of the entity. 245 (b) Documentation that the bonding and educational 246 requirements of s. 744.2003s. 744.1085have been met. 247 (c) Sufficient information to distinguish a guardian 248 providing guardianship services as a public guardian, 249 individually, through partnership, corporation, or any other 250 business organization. 251 (4) Prior to registering a professional guardian, the 252Statewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional 253 Guardians must receive and review copies of the credit and 254 criminal investigations conducted under s. 744.3135. The credit 255 and criminal investigations must have been completed within the 256 previous 2 years. 257 (5) The executive director of the office may deny 258 registration to a professional guardian if the executive 259 director determines that the guardian’s proposed registration, 260 including the guardian’s credit or criminal investigations, 261 indicates that registering the professional guardian would 262 violate any provision of this chapter.If a guardian who is263currently registered with the office violates a provision of264this chapter, the executive director of the office may suspend265or revoke the guardian’s registration. If the executive director266denies registration to a professional guardian or suspends or267revokes a professional guardian’s registration, the Statewide268Public Guardianship Office must send written notification of the269denial, suspension, or revocation to the chief judge of each270judicial circuit in which the guardian was serving on the day of271the office’s decision to deny, suspend, or revoke the272registration.273 (7) A trust company, a state banking corporation or state 274 savings association authorized and qualified to exercise 275 fiduciary powers in this state, or a national banking 276 association or federal savings and loan association authorized 277 and qualified to exercise fiduciary powers in this state, may, 278 but is not required to, register as a professional guardian 279 under this section. If a trust company, state banking 280 corporation, state savings association, national banking 281 association, or federal savings and loan association described 282 in this subsection elects to register as a professional guardian 283 under this subsection, the requirements of subsections (3) and 284 (4) do not apply and the registration must include only the 285 name, address, and employer identification number of the 286 registrant, the name and address of its registered agent, if 287 any, and the documentation described in paragraph (3)(b). 288 (10) A state college or university or an independent 289 college or university that is located and chartered in Florida, 290 that is accredited by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern 291 Association of Colleges and Schools or the Accrediting Council 292 for Independent Colleges and Schools, and that confers degrees 293 as defined in s. 1005.02(7) may, but is not required to, 294 register as a professional guardian under this section. If a 295 state college or university or independent college or university 296 elects to register as a professional guardian under this 297 subsection, the requirements of subsections (3) and (4) do not 298 apply and the registration must include only the name, address, 299 and employer identification number of the registrant. 300 Section 10. Section 744.1085, Florida Statutes, is 301 renumbered as section 744.2003, Florida Statutes, subsections 302 (3), (6), and (9) of that section are amended, and subsection 303 (8) of that section is republished, to read: 304 744.2003744.1085Regulation of professional guardians; 305 application; bond required; educational requirements.— 306 (3) Each professional guardian defined in s. 744.102(17) 307 and public guardian must receive a minimum of 40 hours of 308 instruction and training. Each professional guardian must 309 receive a minimum of 16 hours of continuing education every 2 310 calendar years after the year in which the initial 40-hour 311 educational requirement is met. The instruction and education 312 must be completed through a course approved or offered by the 313Statewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional 314 Guardians. The expenses incurred to satisfy the educational 315 requirements prescribed in this section may not be paid with the 316 assets of any ward. This subsection does not apply to any 317 attorney who is licensed to practice law in this state. 318 (6)After July 1, 2005,Each professional guardian isshall319berequired to demonstrate competency to act as a professional 320 guardian by taking an examination approved by the Department of 321 Elderly Affairs. 322 (a) The Department of Elderly Affairs shall determine the 323 minimum examination score necessary for passage of guardianship 324 examinations. 325 (b) The Department of Elderly Affairs shall determine the 326 procedure for administration of the examination. 327 (c) The Department of Elderly Affairs or its contractor 328 shall charge an examination fee for the actual costs of the 329 development and the administration of the examination. The fee 330 for registration and certification of a professional guardian 331 may,nottoexceed $500. 332 (d) The Department of Elderly Affairs may recognize passage 333 of a national guardianship examination in lieu of all or part of 334 the examination approved by the Department of Elderly Affairs, 335 except that all professional guardians must take and pass an 336 approved examination section related to Florida law and 337 procedure. 338 (8) The Department of Elderly Affairs shall waive the 339 examination requirement in subsection (6) if a professional 340 guardian can provide: 341 (a) Proof that the guardian has actively acted as a 342 professional guardian for 5 years or more; and 343 (b) A letter from a circuit judge before whom the 344 professional guardian practiced at least 1 year which states 345 that the professional guardian had demonstrated to the court 346 competency as a professional guardian. 347 (9)After July 1, 2004,The court mayshallnot appoint any 348 professional guardian who has not met the requirements of this 349 section and s. 744.2002s. 744.1083. 350 Section 11. Section 744.2004, Florida Statutes, is created 351 to read: 352 744.2004 Complaints; disciplinary proceedings; penalties; 353 enforcement.— 354 (1) The Office of Public and Professional Guardians shall 355 adopt rules to: 356 (a) Review, and if determined appropriate, investigate an 357 allegation that a professional guardian has violated an 358 applicable statute, fiduciary duty, standard of practice, rule, 359 regulation, or other requirement governing the conduct of 360 professional guardians. 361 (b) Establish disciplinary proceedings, conduct hearings, 362 and take administrative action pursuant to chapter 120. 363 Disciplinary actions include, but are not limited to, requiring 364 a professional guardian to participate in additional educational 365 courses provided by the Office of Public and Professional 366 Guardians, imposing additional monitoring by the office of the 367 guardianships to which the professional guardian is appointed, 368 and suspension or revocation of a professional guardian’s 369 registration. 370 (2) If the office makes a final determination to suspend or 371 revoke the professional guardian’s registration, it must provide 372 the determination to the court of competent jurisdiction for any 373 guardianship case to which the professional guardian is 374 currently appointed. 375 Section 12. Section 744.344, Florida Statutes, is 376 renumbered as section 744.2005, Florida Statutes, and amended to 377 read: 378 744.2005744.344Order of appointment.— 379 (1) A professional guardian appointed by the court to 380 provide representation of a ward shall be selected from a 381 registry of professional guardians. 382 (2) In using a registry: 383 (a) The chief judge of the judicial circuit shall compile a 384 list of professional guardians by county and provide the list to 385 the clerk of court in each county. To be included on a registry, 386 the professional guardian must be certified by the Office of 387 Public and Professional Guardians. 388 (b) The court shall appoint professional guardians in the 389 order in which the names appear on the applicable registry, 390 unless the court makes a finding of good cause on the record for 391 appointment of a professional guardian out of order. The clerk 392 of the court shall maintain the registry and provide to the 393 court the name of the professional guardian for appointment. A 394 professional guardian not appointed in the order in which her or 395 his name appears on the list shall remain next in order. 396 (3)(1)The court may hear testimony on the question of who 397 is entitled to preference in the appointment of a guardian. Any 398 interested person may intervene in the proceedings. 399 (4) The order appointing a guardian must state the nature 400 of the guardianship as either plenary or limited. If limited, 401 the order must state that the guardian may exercise only those 402 delegable rights which have been removed from the incapacitated 403 person and specifically delegated to the guardian. The order 404 shall state the specific powers and duties of the guardian. 405 (5)(2)The order appointing a guardian must be consistent 406 with the incapacitated person’s welfare and safety, must be the 407 least restrictive appropriate alternative, and must reserve to 408 the incapacitated person the right to make decisions in all 409 matters commensurate with the person’s ability to do so. 410 (6)(3)If a petition for appointment of guardian has been 411 filed, an order appointing a guardian must be issued 412 contemporaneously with the order adjudicating the person 413 incapacitated. The order must specify the amount of the bond to 414 be given by the guardian and must state specifically whether the 415 guardian must place all, or part, of the property of the ward in 416 a restricted account in a financial institution designated 417 pursuant to s. 69.031. 418 (7)(4)If a petition for the appointment of a guardian has 419 not been filed at the time of the hearing on the petition to 420 determine capacity, the court may appoint an emergency temporary 421 guardian in the manner and for the purposes specified in s. 422 744.3031. 423 (8)(5)A plenary guardian shall exercise all delegable 424 rights and powers of the incapacitated person. 425 (9)(6)A person for whom a limited guardian has been 426 appointed retains all legal rights except those which have been 427 specifically granted to the guardian in the court’s written 428 order. 429 Section 13. Section 744.703, Florida Statutes, is 430 renumbered as 744.2006, Florida Statutes, and subsections (1) 431 and (6) of that section are amended, to read: 432 744.2006744.703Office of public and professional 433 guardiansguardian; appointment, notification.— 434 (1) The executive director of theStatewide Public435GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional Guardians, after 436 consultation with the chief judge and other circuit judges 437 within the judicial circuit and with appropriate advocacy groups 438 and individuals and organizations who are knowledgeable about 439 the needs of incapacitated persons, may establish, within a 440 county in the judicial circuit or within the judicial circuit, 441 one or more offices of public and professional guardian and if 442 so established, shall create a list of persons best qualified to 443 serve as the public guardian, who have been investigated 444 pursuant to s. 744.3135. The public guardian must have knowledge 445 of the legal process and knowledge of social services available 446 to meet the needs of incapacitated persons. The public guardian 447 shall maintain a staff or contract with professionally qualified 448 individuals to carry out the guardianship functions, including 449 an attorney who has experience in probate areas and another 450 person who has a master’s degree in social work, or a 451 gerontologist, psychologist, registered nurse, or nurse 452 practitioner. A public guardian that is a nonprofit corporate 453 guardian under s. 744.309(5) must receive tax-exempt status from 454 the United States Internal Revenue Service. 455 (6) Public guardians who have been previously appointed by 456 a chief judge prior to the effective date of this act pursuant 457 to this section may continue in their positions until the 458 expiration of their term pursuant to their agreement. However, 459 oversight of all public guardians shall transfer to the 460Statewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional 461 Guardians upon the effective date of this act. The executive 462 director of theStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public 463 and Professional Guardians shall be responsible for all future 464 appointments of public guardians pursuant to this act. 465 Section 14. Section 744.704, Florida Statutes, is 466 renumbered as section 744.2007, Florida Statutes. 467 Section 15. Section 744.705, Florida Statutes, is 468 renumbered as section 744.2008, Florida Statutes. 469 Section 16. Section 744.706, Florida Statutes, is 470 renumbered as section 744.2009, Florida Statutes, and amended to 471 read: 472 744.2009744.706Preparation of budget.—Each public 473 guardian, whether funded in whole or in part by money raised 474 through local efforts, grants, or any other source or whether 475 funded in whole or in part by the state, shall prepare a budget 476 for the operation of the office of public guardian to be 477 submitted to theStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public 478 and Professional Guardians. As appropriate, theStatewide Public479GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional Guardians will 480 include such budgetary information in the Department of Elderly 481 Affairs’ legislative budget request. The office of public 482 guardian shall be operated within the limitations of the General 483 Appropriations Act and any other funds appropriated by the 484 Legislature to that particular judicial circuit, subject to the 485 provisions of chapter 216. The Department of Elderly Affairs 486 shall make a separate and distinct request for an appropriation 487 for theStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and 488 Professional Guardians. However, this section mayshallnot be 489 construed to preclude the financing of any operations of the 490 office of the public guardian by moneys raised through local 491 effort or through the efforts of theStatewide Public492GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional Guardians. 493 Section 17. Section 744.707, Florida Statutes, is 494 renumbered as section 744.2101, Florida Statutes, and amended to 495 read: 496 744.2101744.707Procedures and rules.—The public guardian, 497 subject to the oversight of theStatewide Public Guardianship498 Office of Public and Professional Guardians, is authorized to: 499 (1) Formulate and adopt necessary procedures to assure the 500 efficient conduct of the affairs of the ward and general 501 administration of the office and staff. 502 (2) Contract for services necessary to discharge the duties 503 of the office. 504 (3) Accept the services of volunteer persons or 505 organizations and provide reimbursement for proper and necessary 506 expenses. 507 Section 18. Section 744.709, Florida Statutes, is 508 renumbered as section 744.2102, Florida Statutes. 509 Section 19. Section 744.708, Florida Statutes, is 510 renumbered as section 744.2103, Florida Statutes, and 511 subsections (3), (4), (5), and (7) of that section are amended, 512 to read: 513 744.2103744.708Reports and standards.— 514 (3) A public guardian shall file an annual report on the 515 operations of the office of public guardian, in writing, by 516 September 1 for the preceding fiscal year with theStatewide517Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional Guardians, 518 which shall have responsibility for supervision of the 519 operations of the office of public guardian. 520 (4) Within 6 months of his or her appointment as guardian 521 of a ward, the public guardian shall submit to the clerk of the 522 court for placement in the ward’s guardianship file and to the 523 executive director of theStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice 524 of Public and Professional Guardians a report on his or her 525 efforts to locate a family member or friend, other person, bank, 526 or corporation to act as guardian of the ward and a report on 527 the ward’s potential to be restored to capacity. 528 (5)(a) Each office of public guardian shall undergo an 529 independent audit by a qualified certified public accountant at 530 least once every 2 years. A copy of the audit report shall be 531 submitted to theStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public 532 and Professional Guardians. 533 (b) In addition to regular monitoring activities, the 534Statewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional 535 Guardians shall conduct an investigation into the practices of 536 each office of public guardian related to the managing of each 537 ward’s personal affairs and property. If feasible, the 538 investigation shall be conducted in conjunction with the 539 financial audit of each office of public guardian under 540 paragraph (a). 541 (7) The ratio for professional staff to wards shall be 1 542 professional to 40 wards. TheStatewide Public Guardianship543 Office of Public and Professional Guardians may increase or 544 decrease the ratio after consultation with the local public 545 guardian and the chief judge of the circuit court. The basis for 546 the decision to increase or decrease the prescribed ratio must 547 be included in the annual report to the secretary. 548 Section 20. Section 744.7081, Florida Statutes, is 549 renumbered as section 744.2104, Florida Statutes, and amended to 550 read: 551 744.2104744.7081Access to records by theStatewide Public552GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional Guardians; 553 confidentiality.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law to 554 the contrary, any medical, financial, or mental health records 555 held by an agency, or the court and its agencies, which are 556 necessary to evaluate the public guardianship system, to assess 557 the need for additional public guardianship, or to develop 558 required reports, shall be provided to theStatewide Public559GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional Guardians upon 560 that office’s request. Any confidential or exempt information 561 provided to theStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public 562 and Professional Guardians shall continue to be held 563 confidential or exempt as otherwise provided by law. All records 564 held by theStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and 565 Professional Guardians relating to the medical, financial, or 566 mental health of vulnerable adults as defined in chapter 415, 567 persons with a developmental disability as defined in chapter 568 393, or persons with a mental illness as defined in chapter 394, 569 shall be confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a), 570 Art. I of the State Constitution. Notwithstanding any other 571 provision of law, the Office of Public and Professional 572 Guardians is entitled to access all court records relating to 573 the guardianship cases for which a professional guardian is 574 appointed. The office is entitled to access these records 575 through whatever means or systems are available, including, but 576 not limited to, electronic access through the Florida Courts E 577 Portal. 578 Section 21. Section 744.7082, Florida Statutes, is 579 renumbered as section 744.2105, Florida Statutes, and 580 subsections (1) through (5) and (8) of that section are amended, 581 to read: 582 744.2105744.7082Direct-support organization; definition; 583 use of property; board of directors; audit; dissolution.— 584 (1) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term “direct 585 support organization” means an organization whose sole purpose 586 is to support theStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public 587 and Professional Guardians and is: 588 (a) A not-for-profit corporation incorporated under chapter 589 617 and approved by the Department of State; 590 (b) Organized and operated to conduct programs and 591 activities; to raise funds; to request and receive grants, 592 gifts, and bequests of moneys; to acquire, receive, hold, 593 invest, and administer, in its own name, securities, funds, 594 objects of value, or other property, real or personal; and to 595 make expenditures to or for the direct or indirect benefit of 596 theStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and 597 Professional Guardians; and 598 (c) Determined by theStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice 599 of Public and Professional Guardians to be consistent with the 600 goals of the office, in the best interests of the state, and in 601 accordance with the adopted goals and mission of the Department 602 of Elderly Affairs and theStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice 603 of Public and Professional Guardians. 604 (2) CONTRACT.—The direct-support organization shall operate 605 under a written contract with theStatewide Public Guardianship606 Office of Public and Professional Guardians. The written 607 contract must provide for: 608 (a) Certification by theStatewide Public Guardianship609 Office of Public and Professional Guardians that the direct 610 support organization is complying with the terms of the contract 611 and is doing so consistent with the goals and purposes of the 612 office and in the best interests of the state. This 613 certification must be made annually and reported in the official 614 minutes of a meeting of the direct-support organization. 615 (b) The reversion of moneys and property held in trust by 616 the direct-support organization: 617 1. To theStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public 618 and Professional Guardians if the direct-support organization is 619 no longer approved to operate for the office; 620 2. To theStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public 621 and Professional Guardians if the direct-support organization 622 ceases to exist; 623 3. To the Department of Elderly Affairs if theStatewide624Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional Guardians 625 ceases to exist; or 626 4. To the state if the Department of Elderly Affairs ceases 627 to exist. 628 629 The fiscal year of the direct-support organization shall begin 630 on July 1 of each year and end on June 30 of the following year. 631 (c) The disclosure of the material provisions of the 632 contract, and the distinction between theStatewide Public633GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional Guardians and the 634 direct-support organization, to donors of gifts, contributions, 635 or bequests, including such disclosure on all promotional and 636 fundraising publications. 637 (3) BOARD OF DIRECTORS.—The Secretary of Elderly Affairs 638 shall appoint a board of directors for the direct-support 639 organization from a list of nominees submitted by the executive 640 director of theStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public 641 and Professional Guardians. 642 (4) USE OF PROPERTY.—The Department of Elderly Affairs may 643 permit, without charge, appropriate use of fixed property and 644 facilities of the department or theStatewide Public645GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional Guardians by the 646 direct-support organization. The department may prescribe any 647 condition with which the direct-support organization must comply 648 in order to use fixed property or facilities of the department 649 or theStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and 650 Professional Guardians. 651 (5) MONEYS.—Any moneys may be held in a separate depository 652 account in the name of the direct-support organization and 653 subject to the provisions of the written contract with the 654Statewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional 655 Guardians. Expenditures of the direct-support organization shall 656 be expressly used to support theStatewide Public Guardianship657 Office of Public and Professional Guardians. The expenditures of 658 the direct-support organization may not be used for the purpose 659 of lobbying as defined in s. 11.045. 660 (8) DISSOLUTION.—AAfter July 1, 2004, anynot-for-profit 661 corporation incorporated under chapter 617 that is determined by 662 a circuit court to be representing itself as a direct-support 663 organization created under this section, but that does not have 664 a written contract with theStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice 665 of Public and Professional Guardians in compliance with this 666 section, is considered to meet the grounds for a judicial 667 dissolution described in s. 617.1430(1)(a). TheStatewide Public668GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional Guardians shall 669 be the recipient for all assets held by the dissolved 670 corporation which accrued during the period that the dissolved 671 corporation represented itself as a direct-support organization 672 created under this section. 673 Section 22. Section 744.712, Florida Statutes, is 674 renumbered as section 744.2106, Florida Statutes, and amended to 675 read: 676 744.2106744.712Joining Forces for Public Guardianship 677 grant program; purpose.—The Legislature intends to establish the 678 Joining Forces for Public Guardianship matching grant program 679 for the purpose of assisting counties to establish and fund 680 community-supported public guardianship programs. The Joining 681 Forces for Public Guardianship matching grant program shall be 682 established and administered by theStatewide Public683GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional Guardians within 684 the Department of Elderly Affairs. The purpose of the program is 685 to provide startup funding to encourage communities to develop 686 and administer locally funded and supported public guardianship 687 programs to address the needs of indigent and incapacitated 688 residents. 689 (1) TheStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and 690 Professional Guardians may distribute the grant funds as 691 follows: 692 (a) As initial startup funding to encourage counties that 693 have no office of public guardian to establish an office, or as 694 initial startup funding to open an additional office of public 695 guardian within a county whose public guardianship needs require 696 more than one office of public guardian. 697 (b) As support funding to operational offices of public 698 guardian that demonstrate a necessity for funds to meet the 699 public guardianship needs of a particular geographic area in the 700 state which the office serves. 701 (c) To assist counties that have an operating public 702 guardianship program but that propose to expand the geographic 703 area or population of persons they serve, or to develop and 704 administer innovative programs to increase access to public 705 guardianship in this state. 706 707 Notwithstanding this subsection, the executive director of the 708 office may award emergency grants if he or she determines that 709 the award is in the best interests of public guardianship in 710 this state. Before making an emergency grant, the executive 711 director must obtain the written approval of the Secretary of 712 Elderly Affairs. Subsections (2), (3), and (4) do not apply to 713 the distribution of emergency grant funds. 714 (2) One or more grants may be awarded within a county. 715 However, a county may not receive an award that equals, or 716 multiple awards that cumulatively equal, more than 20 percent of 717 the total amount of grant funds appropriated during any fiscal 718 year. 719 (3) If an applicant is eligible and meets the requirements 720 to receive grant funds more than once, theStatewide Public721GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional Guardians shall 722 award funds to prior awardees in the following manner: 723 (a) In the second year that grant funds are awarded, the 724 cumulative sum of the award provided to one or more applicants 725 within the same county may not exceed 75 percent of the total 726 amount of grant funds awarded within that county in year one. 727 (b) In the third year that grant funds are awarded, the 728 cumulative sum of the award provided to one or more applicants 729 within the same county may not exceed 60 percent of the total 730 amount of grant funds awarded within that county in year one. 731 (c) In the fourth year that grant funds are awarded, the 732 cumulative sum of the award provided to one or more applicants 733 within the same county may not exceed 45 percent of the total 734 amount of grant funds awarded within that county in year one. 735 (d) In the fifth year that grant funds are awarded, the 736 cumulative sum of the award provided to one or more applicants 737 within the same county may not exceed 30 percent of the total 738 amount of grant funds awarded within that county in year one. 739 (e) In the sixth year that grant funds are awarded, the 740 cumulative sum of the award provided to one or more applicants 741 within the same county may not exceed 15 percent of the total 742 amount of grant funds awarded within that county in year one. 743 744 TheStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and 745 Professional Guardians may not award grant funds to any 746 applicant within a county that has received grant funds for more 747 than 6 years. 748 (4) Grant funds shall be used only to provide direct 749 services to indigent wards, except that up to 10 percent of the 750 grant funds may be retained by the awardee for administrative 751 expenses. 752 (5) Implementation of the program is subject to a specific 753 appropriation by the Legislature in the General Appropriations 754 Act. 755 Section 23. Section 744.713, Florida Statutes, is 756 renumbered as section 744.2107, Florida Statutes, and amended to 757 read: 758 744.2107744.713Program administration; duties of the 759Statewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional 760 Guardians.—TheStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public 761 and Professional Guardians shall administer the grant program. 762 The office shall: 763 (1) Publicize the availability of grant funds to entities 764 that may be eligible for the funds. 765 (2) Establish an application process for submitting a grant 766 proposal. 767 (3) Request, receive, and review proposals from applicants 768 seeking grant funds. 769 (4) Determine the amount of grant funds each awardee may 770 receive and award grant funds to applicants. 771 (5) Develop a monitoring process to evaluate grant 772 awardees, which may include an annual monitoring visit to each 773 awardee’s local office. 774 (6) Ensure that persons or organizations awarded grant 775 funds meet and adhere to the requirements of this act. 776 Section 24. Section 744.714, Florida Statutes, is 777 renumbered as section 744.2108, Florida Statutes, and paragraph 778 (b) of subsection (1) and paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of 779 that section are amended, to read: 780 744.2108744.714Eligibility.— 781 (1) Any person or organization that has not been awarded a 782 grant must meet all of the following conditions to be eligible 783 to receive a grant: 784 (b) The applicant must have already been appointed by, or 785 is pending appointment by, theStatewide Public Guardianship786 Office of Public and Professional Guardians to become an office 787 of public guardian in this state. 788 (2) Any person or organization that has been awarded a 789 grant must meet all of the following conditions to be eligible 790 to receive another grant: 791 (b) The applicant must have been appointed by, or is 792 pending reappointment by, theStatewide Public Guardianship793 Office of Public and Professional Guardians to be an office of 794 public guardian in this state. 795 Section 25. Section 744.715, Florida Statutes, is 796 renumbered as section 744.2109, Florida Statutes, and amended to 797 read: 798 744.2109744.715Grant application requirements; review 799 criteria; awards process.—Grant applications must be submitted 800 to theStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and 801 Professional Guardians for review and approval. 802 (1) A grant application must contain: 803 (a) The specific amount of funds being requested. 804 (b) The proposed annual budget for the office of public 805 guardian for which the applicant is applying on behalf of, 806 including all sources of funding, and a detailed report of 807 proposed expenditures, including administrative costs. 808 (c) The total number of wards the applicant intends to 809 serve during the grant period. 810 (d) Evidence that the applicant has: 811 1. Attempted to procure funds and has exhausted all 812 possible other sources of funding; or 813 2. Procured funds from local sources, but the total amount 814 of the funds collected or pledged is not sufficient to meet the 815 need for public guardianship in the geographic area that the 816 applicant intends to serve. 817 (e) An agreement or confirmation from a local funding 818 source, such as a county, municipality, or any other public or 819 private organization, that the local funding source will 820 contribute matching funds to the public guardianship program 821 totaling not less than $1 for every $1 of grant funds awarded. 822 For purposes of this section, an applicant may provide evidence 823 of agreements or confirmations from multiple local funding 824 sources showing that the local funding sources will pool their 825 contributed matching funds to the public guardianship program 826 for a combined total of not less than $1 for every $1 of grant 827 funds awarded. In-kind contributions, such as materials, 828 commodities, office space, or other types of facilities, 829 personnel services, or other items as determined by rule shall 830 be considered by the office and may be counted as part or all of 831 the local matching funds. 832 (f) A detailed plan describing how the office of public 833 guardian for which the applicant is applying on behalf of will 834 be funded in future years. 835 (g) Any other information determined by rule as necessary 836 to assist in evaluating grant applicants. 837 (2) If theStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public 838 and Professional Guardians determines that an applicant meets 839 the requirements for an award of grant funds, the office may 840 award the applicant any amount of grant funds the executive 841 director deems appropriate, if the amount awarded meets the 842 requirements of this act. The office may adopt a rule allocating 843 the maximum allowable amount of grant funds which may be 844 expended on any ward. 845 (3) A grant awardee must submit a new grant application for 846 each year of additional funding. 847 (4)(a) In the first year of the Joining Forces for Public 848 Guardianship program’s existence, theStatewide Public849GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional Guardians shall 850 give priority in awarding grant funds to those entities that: 851 1. Are operating as appointed offices of public guardians 852 in this state; 853 2. Meet all of the requirements for being awarded a grant 854 under this act; and 855 3. Demonstrate a need for grant funds during the current 856 fiscal year due to a loss of local funding formerly raised 857 through court filing fees. 858 (b) In each fiscal year after the first year that grant 859 funds are distributed, theStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice 860 of Public and Professional Guardians may give priority to 861 awarding grant funds to those entities that: 862 1. Meet all of the requirements of this act for being 863 awarded grant funds; and 864 2. Submit with their application an agreement or 865 confirmation from a local funding source, such as a county, 866 municipality, or any other public or private organization, that 867 the local funding source will contribute matching funds totaling 868 an amount equal to or exceeding $2 for every $1 of grant funds 869 awarded by the office. An entity may submit with its application 870 agreements or confirmations from multiple local funding sources 871 showing that the local funding sources will pool their 872 contributed matching funds to the public guardianship program 873 for a combined total of not less than $2 for every $1 of grant 874 funds awarded. In-kind contributions allowable under this 875 section shall be evaluated by theStatewide Public Guardianship876 Office of Public and Professional Guardians and may be counted 877 as part or all of the local matching funds. 878 Section 26. Section 744.701, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 879 Section 27. Section 744.702, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 880 Section 28. Section 744.7101, Florida Statutes, is 881 repealed. 882 Section 29. Section 744.711, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 883 Section 30. Subsection (5) of section 400.148, Florida 884 Statutes, is amended to read: 885 400.148 Medicaid “Up-or-Out” Quality of Care Contract 886 Management Program.— 887 (5) The agency shall, jointly with theStatewide Public888GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional Guardians, 889 develop a system in the pilot project areas to identify Medicaid 890 recipients who are residents of a participating nursing home or 891 assisted living facility who have diminished ability to make 892 their own decisions and who do not have relatives or family 893 available to act as guardians in nursing homes listed on the 894 Nursing Home Guide Watch List. The agency and theStatewide895Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional Guardians 896 shall give such residents priority for publicly funded 897 guardianship services. 898 Section 31. Subsection (3), paragraph (c) of subsection 899 (4), and subsections (5) and (6) of section 744.3135, Florida 900 Statutes, are amended to read: 901 744.3135 Credit and criminal investigation.— 902 (3) For professional guardians, the court and theStatewide903Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional Guardians 904 shall accept the satisfactory completion of a criminal history 905 record check by any method described in this subsection. A 906 professional guardian satisfies the requirements of this section 907 by undergoing an electronic fingerprint criminal history record 908 check. A professional guardian may use any electronic 909 fingerprinting equipment used for criminal history record 910 checks. TheStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and 911 Professional Guardians shall adopt a rule detailing the 912 acceptable methods for completing an electronic fingerprint 913 criminal history record check under this section. The 914 professional guardian shall pay the actual costs incurred by the 915 Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Law 916 Enforcement for the criminal history record check. The entity 917 completing the record check must immediately send the results of 918 the criminal history record check to the clerk of the court and 919 theStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and 920 Professional Guardians. The clerk of the court shall maintain 921 the results in the professional guardian’s file and shall make 922 the results available to the court. 923 (4) 924 (c) The Department of Law Enforcement shall search all 925 arrest fingerprints received under s. 943.051 against the 926 fingerprints retained in the statewide automated biometric 927 identification system under paragraph (b). Any arrest record 928 that is identified with the fingerprints of a person described 929 in this paragraph must be reported to the clerk of court. The 930 clerk of court must forward any arrest record received for a 931 professional guardian to theStatewide Public Guardianship932 Office of Public and Professional Guardians within 5 days. Each 933 professional guardian who elects to submit fingerprint 934 information electronically shall participate in this search 935 process by paying an annual fee to theStatewide Public936GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional Guardians of the 937 Department of Elderly Affairs and by informing the clerk of 938 court and theStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and 939 Professional Guardians of any change in the status of his or her 940 guardianship appointment. The amount of the annual fee to be 941 imposed for performing these searches and the procedures for the 942 retention of professional guardian fingerprints and the 943 dissemination of search results shall be established by rule of 944 the Department of Law Enforcement. At least once every 5 years, 945 theStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and 946 Professional Guardians must request that the Department of Law 947 Enforcement forward the fingerprints maintained under this 948 section to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 949 (5)(a) A professional guardian, and each employee of a 950 professional guardian who has a fiduciary responsibility to a 951 ward, must complete, at his or her own expense, an investigation 952 of his or her credit history before and at least once every 2 953 years after the date of the guardian’s registration with the 954Statewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional 955 Guardians. 956 (b) TheStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and 957 Professional Guardians shall adopt a rule detailing the 958 acceptable methods for completing a credit investigation under 959 this section. If appropriate, theStatewide Public Guardianship960 Office of Public and Professional Guardians may administer 961 credit investigations. If the office chooses to administer the 962 credit investigation, the office may adopt a rule setting a fee, 963 not to exceed $25, to reimburse the costs associated with the 964 administration of a credit investigation. 965 (6) TheStatewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and 966 Professional Guardians may inspect at any time the results of 967 any credit or criminal history record check of a public or 968 professional guardian conducted under this section. The office 969 shall maintain copies of the credit or criminal history record 970 check results in the guardian’s registration file. If the 971 results of a credit or criminal investigation of a public or 972 professional guardian have not been forwarded to theStatewide973Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional Guardians 974 by the investigating agency, the clerk of the court shall 975 forward copies of the results of the investigations to the 976 office upon receiving them. 977 Section 32. Paragraph (e) of subsection (2) of section 978 415.1102, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 979 415.1102 Adult protection teams.— 980 (2) Such teams may be composed of, but need not be limited 981 to: 982 (e) Public and professional guardians as described in part 983 IIIXof chapter 744. 984 Section 33. Paragraph (d) of subsection (3) of section 985 744.331, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 986 744.331 Procedures to determine incapacity.— 987 (3) EXAMINING COMMITTEE.— 988 (d) A member of an examining committee must complete a 989 minimum of 4 hours of initial training. The person must complete 990 2 hours of continuing education during each 2-year period after 991 the initial training. The initial training and continuing 992 education program must be developed under the supervision of the 993Statewide Public GuardianshipOffice of Public and Professional 994 Guardians, in consultation with the Florida Conference of 995 Circuit Court Judges; the Elder Law and the Real Property, 996 Probate and Trust Law sections of The Florida Bar; and the 997 Florida State Guardianship Association; and the Florida998Guardianship Foundation. The court may waive the initial 999 training requirement for a person who has served for not less 1000 than 5 years on examining committees. If a person wishes to 1001 obtain his or her continuing education on the Internet or by 1002 watching a video course, the person must first obtain the 1003 approval of the chief judge before taking an Internet or video 1004 course. 1005 Section 34. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section 1006 20.415, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1007 20.415 Department of Elderly Affairs; trust funds.—The 1008 following trust funds shall be administered by the Department of 1009 Elderly Affairs: 1010 (1) Administrative Trust Fund. 1011 (a) Funds to be credited to and uses of the trust fund 1012 shall be administered in accordance with ss. 215.32, 744.534, 1013 and 744.2001744.7021. 1014 Section 35. Section 744.524, Florida Statutes, is amended 1015 to read: 1016 744.524 Termination of guardianship on change of domicile 1017 of resident ward.—When the domicile of a resident ward has 1018 changed as provided in s. 744.1098s. 744.2025, and the foreign 1019 court having jurisdiction over the ward at the ward’s new 1020 domicile has appointed a guardian and that guardian has 1021 qualified and posted a bond in an amount required by the foreign 1022 court, the guardian in this state may file her or his final 1023 report and close the guardianship in this state. The guardian of 1024 the property in this state shall cause a notice to be published 1025 once a week for 2 consecutive weeks, in a newspaper of general 1026 circulation published in the county, that she or he has filed 1027 her or his accounting and will apply for discharge on a day 1028 certain and that jurisdiction of the ward will be transferred to 1029 the state of foreign jurisdiction. If an objection is filed to 1030 the termination of the guardianship in this state, the court 1031 shall hear the objection and enter an order either sustaining or 1032 overruling the objection. Upon the disposition of all objections 1033 filed, or if no objection is filed, final settlement shall be 1034 made by the Florida guardian. On proof that the remaining 1035 property in the guardianship has been received by the foreign 1036 guardian, the guardian of the property in this state shall be 1037 discharged. The entry of the order terminating the guardianship 1038 in this state shall not exonerate the guardian or the guardian’s 1039 surety from any liability previously incurred. 1040 Section 36. For the 2015-2016 fiscal year, 6 full-time 1041 equivalent positions, with associated salary rate of 191,119, 1042 are authorized and the sum of $821,670 in recurring funds from 1043 the General Revenue Fund is appropriated to the Department of 1044 Elder Affairs for the purpose of carrying out all oversight and 1045 monitoring responsibilities of the Office of Public and 1046 Professional Guardians. 1047 Section 37. This act shall take effect January 1, 2016.