Bill Text: IA SF361 | 2017-2018 | 87th General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: A bill for an act relating to the temporary delegation of parental authority by the parent, guardian, or legal custodian of a child. (Formerly SF 78.)
Spectrum: Committee Bill
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-03-22 - Placed on calendar under unfinished business. H.J. 671. [SF361 Detail]
Download: Iowa-2017-SF361-Introduced.html
Senate File 361 - Introduced SENATE FILE BY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIARY (SUCCESSOR TO SF 78) A BILL FOR 1 An Act relating to the temporary delegation of parental 2 authority by the parent, guardian, or legal custodian of a 3 child. 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: TLSB 1534SV (3) 87 rh/rj PAG LIN 1 1 Section 1. NEW SECTION. 633F.1 Definitions. 1 2 1. "Agent" means a person granted authority to act for a 1 3 parent, guardian, or legal custodian under a power of attorney 1 4 created under this chapter. 1 5 2. "Child" means a person under eighteen years of age. 1 6 3. "Power of attorney" means a writing that grants authority 1 7 to an agent to act in the place of a parent, guardian, or legal 1 8 custodian regarding the care or custody of a child. 1 9 Sec. 2. NEW SECTION. 633F.2 Power of attorney ==== temporary 1 10 delegation of parental authority. 1 11 1. A parent, guardian, or legal custodian of a child, by a 1 12 properly executed power of attorney, may delegate to another 1 13 person any authority regarding the care or custody of the child 1 14 except for any of the following powers: 1 15 a. The power to consent to the child's marriage. 1 16 b. The power to consent to the child's adoption. 1 17 c. The power to consent to the performance or inducement of 1 18 an abortion on or for the child. 1 19 d. The power to consent to the termination of the parental 1 20 rights of a parent of the child. 1 21 2. A power of attorney executed under this chapter must be 1 22 signed by all parents, guardians, and legal custodians. The 1 23 power of attorney must be acknowledged before a notary public 1 24 or other individual authorized by law to take acknowledgments. 1 25 An agent named in the power of attorney shall not notarize the 1 26 principal's signature. An acknowledged signature on a power of 1 27 attorney is presumed to be genuine. 1 28 3. A parent, guardian, or legal custodian of the child shall 1 29 have the authority to revoke or terminate a power of attorney 1 30 created under this chapter at any time by giving notice of the 1 31 revocation in writing to the agent. 1 32 4. A power of attorney created under this chapter shall 1 33 be for a period of time not to exceed ninety days. A parent, 1 34 guardian, or legal custodian of the child may execute a new 1 35 power of attorney for an additional period of ninety days, but 2 1 in no case shall a power of attorney created under this chapter 2 2 be valid for more than one hundred eighty days. If a parent, 2 3 guardian, or legal custodian revokes or terminates the power of 2 4 attorney, the child shall be returned to the care and custody 2 5 of the parent, guardian, or legal custodian within twenty=four 2 6 hours of the date of the revocation or termination. 2 7 5. An agent shall exercise parental or legal authority on a 2 8 continuous basis without compensation for the duration of the 2 9 power of attorney and shall not be considered to be a foster 2 10 parent subject to licensure by the department of human services 2 11 pursuant to chapter 237. 2 12 6. A power of attorney executed under this chapter by a 2 13 parent, guardian, or legal custodian shall not constitute 2 14 abandonment, abuse, or neglect of the child under chapter 232 2 15 by the parent, guardian, or legal custodian unless the parent, 2 16 guardian, or legal custodian fails to take custody of the child 2 17 upon the expiration of the power of attorney. 2 18 7. This chapter shall not apply to a power of attorney 2 19 created pursuant to section 598C.204. 2 20 8. The department of human services, in consultation with 2 21 the judicial branch, shall develop forms for carrying out the 2 22 provisions of this chapter. 2 23 EXPLANATION 2 24 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 2 25 the explanation's substance by the members of the general assembly. 2 26 This bill relates to the temporary delegation of parental 2 27 authority by the parent, guardian, or legal custodian of a 2 28 child. 2 29 The bill provides that a parent, guardian, or legal 2 30 custodian of a child, by a properly executed power of attorney, 2 31 may delegate to another person any powers regarding the care 2 32 or custody of the child except the power to consent to the 2 33 child's marriage, the power to consent to the child's adoption, 2 34 the power to consent to the performance or inducement of an 2 35 abortion on or for the child, and the power to consent to the 3 1 termination of the parental rights of a parent of the child. A 3 2 power of attorney executed under the bill must be signed by all 3 3 parents, guardians, and legal custodians of a child and must 3 4 be properly acknowledged by a notary. A parent, guardian, or 3 5 legal custodian shall have the authority to revoke or terminate 3 6 a power of attorney created under the bill at any time. 3 7 A power of attorney created under the bill shall be for a 3 8 period of time not to exceed 90 days. The parent, guardian, or 3 9 legal custodian of the child is required to execute a new power 3 10 of attorney for an additional period of 90 days, and the power 3 11 of attorney cannot exceed 180 days. If the parent, guardian, 3 12 or legal custodian revokes or terminates the power of attorney, 3 13 the child shall be returned to the care and custody of the 3 14 parent, guardian, or legal custodian within 24 hours of the 3 15 date of the revocation or termination. 3 16 An agent (person granted authority to act for a parent, 3 17 guardian, or legal custodian under a power of attorney 3 18 created in the bill) is required to exercise parental or legal 3 19 authority on a continuous basis without compensation for the 3 20 duration of the power of attorney and shall not be considered 3 21 to be a foster parent subject to licensure by the department 3 22 of human services pursuant to Code chapter 237 (child foster 3 23 care facilities). A power of attorney executed under the bill 3 24 by a parent, guardian, or legal custodian shall not constitute 3 25 abandonment, abuse, or neglect of the child under Code chapter 3 26 232 by the parent, guardian, or legal custodian unless the 3 27 parent, guardian, or legal custodian fails to take custody of 3 28 the child or to execute a subsequent power of attorney upon the 3 29 expiration of the power of attorney. 3 30 The bill provides power of attorney execution requirements 3 31 and requires the department of human services, in consultation 3 32 with the judicial branch, to develop forms for carrying out the 3 33 provisions of the bill. 3 34 The bill does not apply to a power of attorney created 3 35 pursuant to Code section 598C.204 (power of attorney under the 4 1 uniform deployed parents custody and visitation Act). LSB 1534SV (3) 87 rh/rj
