HOUSE AMENDMENT Bill No. SB 1822
1	CHAMBER ACTION
2	Senate House
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12	Representative Green offered the following:
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14	Amendment (with directory and title amendments)
15	On page 6, between line(s) 9 and 10,
16	insert:
17	Section 5. Section 744.7021, Florida Statutes, is amended
18	to read:
19	744.7021 Statewide Public Guardianship Office.--There is
20	hereby created the Statewide Public Guardianship Office within
21	the Department of Elderly Affairs. The Department of Elderly
22	Affairs shall provide administrative support and service to the
23	office to the extent requested by the executive director within
24	the available resources of the department. The Statewide Public
25	Guardianship Office may request the assistance of the Inspector
26	General of the Department of Elderly Affairs in providing
27	auditing services, and the Office of General Counsel of the
28	department may provide assistance in rulemaking and other
29	matters as needed to assist the Statewide Public Guardianship
30	Office. The Statewide Public Guardianship Office shall not be
31	subject to control, supervision, or direction by the Department
32	of Elderly Affairs in the performance of its duties.
33	(1) The Secretary of Elderly Affairs shall appoint the
34	executive director, who shall be thehead of the Statewide
35	Public Guardianship Office is the executive director, who shall
36	be appointed by the Governor. The executive director must be a
37	member of The Florida Bar, knowledgeable oflicensed attorney
38	with a background in guardianship law and knowledge of the
39	social services available to meet the needs of incapacitated
40	persons, shall serve on a full-time basis, and shall personally,
41	or through representatives of the office, carry out the purposes
42	and functions of the Statewide Public Guardianship Office in
43	accordance with state and federal law. The executive director
44	shall serve at the pleasure of and report to the Secretary
45	Governor.
46	(2) The executive directorStatewide Public Guardianship
47	Office shall, within available resources, have oversight
48	responsibilities for all public guardians.
49	(a) The executive directorofficeshall review the current
50	public guardian programs in Florida and other states.
51	(b) The executive directoroffice, in consultation with
52	local guardianship offices, shall develop statewide performance
53	measures and standards.
54	(c) The executive directorofficeshall review the various
55	methods of funding guardianship programs, the kinds of services
56	being provided by such programs, and the demographics of the
57	wards. In addition, the executive directorofficeshall review
58	and make recommendations regarding the feasibility of recovering
59	a portion or all of the costs of providing public guardianship
60	services from the assets or income of the wards.
61	(d) No later than October 1, 2000, the office shall submit
62	to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the
63	House of Representatives, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme
64	Court an interim report describing the progress of the office in
65	meeting the goals as described in this section. No later than
66	October 1, 2001, the office shall submit to the Governor, the
67	President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
68	Representatives, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court a
69	proposed public guardianship plan including alternatives for
70	meeting the state's guardianship needs. This plan may include
71	recommendations for less than the entire state, may include a
72	phase-in system, and shall include estimates of the cost of each
73	of the alternatives.By January 1, 2004, and by January 1 of
74	each year thereafter, the executive directorofficeshall
75	provide a status report and provide further recommendations to
76	the Secretary thataddress the need for public guardianship
77	services and related issues.
78	(e) The executive directorofficemay provide assistance
79	to local governments or entities in pursuing grant
80	opportunities. The executive directorofficeshall review and
81	make recommendations in the annual report on the availability
82	and efficacy of seeking Medicaid matching funds. The executive
83	directorofficeshall diligently seek ways to use existing
84	programs and services to meet the needs of public wards.
85	(f) The executive director, in consultation with the
86	Florida Guardianship Foundationofficeshall develop a
87	guardianship training program curriculum that. The training
88	programmay be offered to all guardians whether public or
89	private. The office shall establish a curriculum committee to
90	develop the training program specified in this part. The
91	curriculum committee shall include, but not be limited to,
92	probate judges. A fee may be charged to private guardians in
93	order to defray the cost of providing the training. In addition,
94	a fee may be charged to any training provider for up to the
95	actual cost of the review and approval of their curriculum. Any
96	fees collected pursuant to this paragraph shall be deposited in
97	the Department of Elderly Affairs Administrative Trust Fund to
98	be used for the guardianship training program.
99	(3) The executive directorofficemay conduct or contract
100	for demonstration projects authorized by the Department of
101	Elderly Affairs, within funds appropriated or through gifts,
102	grants, or contributions for such purposes, to determine the
103	feasibility or desirability of new concepts of organization,
104	administration, financing, or service delivery designed to
105	preserve the civil and constitutional rights of persons of
106	marginal or diminished capacity. Any gifts, grants, or
107	contributions for such purposes shall be deposited in the
108	Department of Elderly Affairs Administrative Trust Fund.
109	(4) The Department of Elderly Affairsofficehas authority
110	to adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to carry
111	out the provisions of this section.
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113	================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T =================
114	On page 1, line(s) 27,
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116	Insert after the semicolon:
117	amending s. 744.7021, F.S.; providing that the executive
118	director of the Statewide Public Guardianship Office shall be
119	appointed by the Secretary of Elderly Affairs, rather than by
120	the Governor; transferring certain responsibilities from the
121	Statewide Public Guardianship Office to the Department of
122	Elderly Affairs;