SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 1822, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 213576
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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11 Senator Saunders moved the following amendment:
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13 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
14 On page 6, between lines 9 and 10,
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17 Section 5. Section 744.7021, Florida Statutes, is
18 amended to read:
19 744.7021 Statewide Public Guardianship Office.--There
20 is hereby created the Statewide Public Guardianship Office
21 within the Department of Elderly Affairs. The Department of
22 Elderly Affairs shall provide administrative support and
23 service to the office to the extent requested by the executive
24 director within the available resources of the department. The
25 Statewide Public Guardianship Office may request the
26 assistance of the Inspector General of the Department of
27 Elderly Affairs in providing auditing services, and the Office
28 of General Counsel of the department may provide assistance in
29 rulemaking and other matters as needed to assist the Statewide
30 Public Guardianship Office. The Statewide Public Guardianship
31 Office shall not be subject to control, supervision, or
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 1822, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 213576
1 direction by the Department of Elderly Affairs in the
2 performance of its duties.
3 (1) The Secretary of Elderly Affairs shall appoint the
4 executive director, who shall be the head of the Statewide
5 Public Guardianship Office is the executive director, who
6 shall be appointed by the Governor. The executive director
7 must be a member of The Florida Bar, knowledgeable of licensed
8 attorney with a background in guardianship law and knowledge
9 of the social services available to meet the needs of
10 incapacitated persons, shall serve on a full-time basis, and
11 shall personally, or through representatives of the office,
12 carry out the purposes and functions of the Statewide Public
13 Guardianship Office in accordance with state and federal law.
14 The executive director shall serve at the pleasure of and
15 report to the secretary Governor.
16 (2) The executive director Statewide Public
17 Guardianship Office shall, within available resources, have
18 oversight responsibilities for all public guardians.
19 (a) The executive director office shall review the
20 current public guardian programs in Florida and other states.
21 (b) The executive director office, in consultation
22 with local guardianship offices, shall develop statewide
23 performance measures and standards.
24 (c) The executive director office shall review the
25 various methods of funding guardianship programs, the kinds of
26 services being provided by such programs, and the demographics
27 of the wards. In addition, the executive director office shall
28 review and make recommendations regarding the feasibility of
29 recovering a portion or all of the costs of providing public
30 guardianship services from the assets or income of the wards.
31 (d) No later than October 1, 2000, the office shall
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7:01 PM 04/29/03 s1822c1c-37bac
SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 1822, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 213576
1 submit to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the
2 Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Chief Justice
3 of the Supreme Court an interim report describing the progress
4 of the office in meeting the goals as described in this
5 section. No later than October 1, 2001, the office shall
6 submit to the Governor, the President of the Senate, the
7 Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Chief Justice
8 of the Supreme Court a proposed public guardianship plan
9 including alternatives for meeting the state's guardianship
10 needs. This plan may include recommendations for less than the
11 entire state, may include a phase-in system, and shall include
12 estimates of the cost of each of the alternatives. By January
13 1, 2004, and by January 1 of each year thereafter, the
14 executive director office shall provide a status report and
15 provide further recommendations to the secretary which address
16 the need for public guardianship services and related issues.
17 (e) The executive director office may provide
18 assistance to local governments or entities in pursuing grant
19 opportunities. The executive director office shall review and
20 make recommendations in the annual report on the availability
21 and efficacy of seeking Medicaid matching funds. The executive
22 director office shall diligently seek ways to use existing
23 programs and services to meet the needs of public wards.
24 (f) The executive director, in consultation with the
25 Florida Guardianship Foundation office shall develop a
26 guardianship training program curriculum that. The training
27 program may be offered to all guardians whether public or
28 private. The office shall establish a curriculum committee to
29 develop the training program specified in this part. The
30 curriculum committee shall include, but not be limited to,
31 probate judges. A fee may be charged to private guardians in
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 1822, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 213576
1 order to defray the cost of providing the training. In
2 addition, a fee may be charged to any training provider for up
3 to the actual cost of the review and approval of their
4 curriculum. Any fees collected pursuant to this paragraph
5 shall be deposited in the Department of Elderly Affairs
6 Administrative Trust Fund to be used for the guardianship
7 training program.
8 (3) The executive director office may conduct or
9 contract for demonstration projects authorized by the
10 Department of Elderly Affairs, within funds appropriated or
11 through gifts, grants, or contributions for such purposes, to
12 determine the feasibility or desirability of new concepts of
13 organization, administration, financing, or service delivery
14 designed to preserve the civil and constitutional rights of
15 persons of marginal or diminished capacity. Any gifts, grants,
16 or contributions for such purposes shall be deposited in the
17 Department of Elderly Affairs Administrative Trust Fund.
18 (4) The Department of Elderly Affairs office has
19 authority to adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54
20 to carry out the provisions of this section.
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22 (Redesignate subsequent sections.)
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26 And the title is amended as follows:
27 On page 1, line 27, following the semicolon
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29 insert:
30 amending s. 744.7021, F.S.; providing that the
31 executive director of the Statewide Public
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SENATE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 1822, 1st Eng.
Amendment No. ___ Barcode 213576
1 Guardianship Office shall be appointed by the
2 Secretary of Elderly Affairs, rather than by
3 the Governor; transferring certain
4 responsibilities from the Statewide Public
5 Guardianship Office to the Department of
6 Elderly Affairs;
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