HOUSE AMENDMENT Bill No. HB 1621 CS
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	Between line(s) 68 and 69, insert:
16	Section 3. Section 744.7021, Florida Statutes, is amended
17	to read:
18	744.7021 Statewide Public Guardianship Office.--There is
19	hereby created the Statewide Public Guardianship Office within
20	the Department of Elderly Affairs. The Department of Elderly
21	Affairs shall provide administrative support and service to the
22	office to the extent requested by the executive director within
23	the available resources of the department. The Statewide Public
24	Guardianship Office may request the assistance of the Inspector
25	General of the Department of Elderly Affairs in providing
26	auditing services, and the Office of General Counsel of the
27	department may provide assistance in rulemaking and other
28	matters as needed to assist the Statewide Public Guardianship
29	Office. The Statewide Public Guardianship Office shall not be
30	subject to control, supervision, or direction by the Department
31	of Elderly Affairs in the performance of its duties.
32	(1) The Secretary of Elderly Affairs shall appoint the
33	executive director, who shall be thehead of the Statewide
34	Public Guardianship Office is the executive director, who shall
35	be appointed by the Governor. The executive director must be a
36	member of The Florida Bar, knowledgeable oflicensed attorney
37	with a background in guardianship law and knowledge of the
38	social services available to meet the needs of incapacitated
39	persons, shall serve on a full-time basis, and shall personally,
40	or through representatives of the office, carry out the purposes
41	and functions of the Statewide Public Guardianship Office in
42	accordance with state and federal law. The executive director
43	shall serve at the pleasure of and report to the Secretary
44	Governor.
45	(2) The executive directorStatewide Public Guardianship
46	Office shall, within available resources, have oversight
47	responsibilities for all public guardians.
48	(a) The executive directorofficeshall review the current
49	public guardian programs in Florida and other states.
50	(b) The executive directoroffice, in consultation with
51	local guardianship offices, shall develop statewide performance
52	measures and standards.
53	(c) The executive directorofficeshall review the various
54	methods of funding guardianship programs, the kinds of services
55	being provided by such programs, and the demographics of the
56	wards. In addition, the executive directorofficeshall review
57	and make recommendations regarding the feasibility of recovering
58	a portion or all of the costs of providing public guardianship
59	services from the assets or income of the wards.
60	(d) No later than October 1, 2000, the office shall submit
61	to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the Speaker of the
62	House of Representatives, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme
63	Court an interim report describing the progress of the office in
64	meeting the goals as described in this section. No later than
65	October 1, 2001, the office shall submit to the Governor, the
66	President of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of
67	Representatives, and the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court a
68	proposed public guardianship plan including alternatives for
69	meeting the state's guardianship needs. This plan may include
70	recommendations for less than the entire state, may include a
71	phase-in system, and shall include estimates of the cost of each
72	of the alternatives.By January 1, 2004, and by January 1 of
73	each year thereafter, the executive directorofficeshall
74	provide a status report and provide further recommendations to
75	the Secretary thataddress the need for public guardianship
76	services and related issues.
77	(e) The executive directorofficemay provide assistance
78	to local governments or entities in pursuing grant
79	opportunities. The executive directorofficeshall review and
80	make recommendations in the annual report on the availability
81	and efficacy of seeking Medicaid matching funds. The executive
82	directorofficeshall diligently seek ways to use existing
83	programs and services to meet the needs of public wards.
84	(f) The executive director, in consultation with the
85	Florida Guardianship Foundationofficeshall develop a
86	guardianship training program curriculum that. The training
87	programmay be offered to all guardians whether public or
88	private. The office shall establish a curriculum committee to
89	develop the training program specified in this part. The
90	curriculum committee shall include, but not be limited to,
91	probate judges. A fee may be charged to private guardians in
92	order to defray the cost of providing the training. In addition,
93	a fee may be charged to any training provider for up to the
94	actual cost of the review and approval of their curriculum. Any
95	fees collected pursuant to this paragraph shall be deposited in
96	the Department of Elderly Affairs Administrative Trust Fund to
97	be used for the guardianship training program.
98	(3) The executive directorofficemay conduct or contract
99	for demonstration projects authorized by the Department of
100	Elderly Affairs, within funds appropriated or through gifts,
101	grants, or contributions for such purposes, to determine the
102	feasibility or desirability of new concepts of organization,
103	administration, financing, or service delivery designed to
104	preserve the civil and constitutional rights of persons of
105	marginal or diminished capacity. Any gifts, grants, or
106	contributions for such purposes shall be deposited in the
107	Department of Elderly Affairs Administrative Trust Fund.
108	(4) The Department of Elderly Affairsofficehas authority
109	to adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to carry
110	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	Remove line 20, and insert:
115	Policy Analysis and Government Accountability; amending s.
116	744.7021, F.S.; providing that the executive director of the
117	Statewide Public Guardianship Office shall be appointed by the
118	Secretary of Elderly Affairs, rather than by the Governor;
119	transferring certain responsibilities from the Statewide Public
120	Guardianship Office to the Department of Elderly Affairs;
121	providing
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