Florida Senate - 2007 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 2040
Barcode 965628
CHAMBER ACTION
Senate House
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11 The Committee on Judiciary (Fasano) recommended the following
12 amendment:
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14 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
15 Delete everything after the enacting clause
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17 and insert:
18 Section 1. Section 744.3135, Florida Statutes, is
19 amended to read:
20 744.3135 Credit and criminal investigation.--
21 (1) The court may require a nonprofessional guardian
22 and shall require a professional or public guardian, and all
23 employees of a professional guardian who have a fiduciary
24 responsibility to a ward, to submit, at their own expense, to
25 an investigation of the guardian's credit history and to
26 undergo level 2 background screening as required under s.
27 435.04. If a credit or criminal history record check is
28 required, the court must consider the results of any
29 investigation before appointing a guardian. At any time, the
30 court may require a guardian or the guardian's employees to
31 submit to an investigation of the person's credit history and
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Florida Senate - 2007 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 2040
Barcode 965628
1 complete a level 1 background screening as set forth in s.
2 435.03. The court shall consider the results of any
3 investigation when reappointing a guardian. The clerk of the
4 court shall maintain a file on each guardian appointed by the
5 court and retain in the file documentation of the result of
6 any investigation conducted under this section. A professional
7 guardian must pay the clerk of the court a fee of up to $7.50
8 for handling and processing professional guardian files.
9 (2) For nonprofessional guardians, the court and the
10 Statewide Public Guardianship Office shall accept the
11 satisfactory completion of a criminal history record check as
12 by any method described in this subsection. A nonprofessional
13 guardian satisfies the requirements of this section by
14 undergoing a state and national criminal history record check
15 using a fingerprint card. The clerk of the court shall obtain
16 fingerprint cards from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and
17 make them available to nonprofessional guardians. Any
18 nonprofessional guardian who is so required shall have his or
19 her fingerprints taken and forward the completed fingerprint
20 card along with the necessary fee to the Department of Law
21 Enforcement for processing. The results of the fingerprint
22 card criminal history record check shall be forwarded to the
23 clerk of the court, who shall maintain the results in the
24 nonprofessional guardian's file and make the results available
25 to the court.
26 (3) For professional guardians, the court and the
27 Statewide Public Guardianship Office shall accept the
28 satisfactory completion of a criminal history record check by
29 any method described in this subsection. A professional
30 guardian satisfies the requirements of this section by
31 undergoing:
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Florida Senate - 2007 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 2040
Barcode 965628
1 (a) An electronic fingerprint criminal history record
2 check. A professional guardian may use any electronic
3 fingerprinting equipment used for criminal history record
4 checks of public employees. The Statewide Public Guardianship
5 Office shall adopt a rule detailing the acceptable methods for
6 completing an electronic fingerprint criminal history record
7 check under this section. The professional guardian shall pay
8 the actual costs incurred by the Federal Bureau of
9 Investigation and the Department of Law Enforcement for the
10 criminal history record check. The agency that operates the
11 equipment used by the guardian may charge the guardian an
12 additional fee, not to exceed $10, for the use of the
13 equipment. The entity agency completing the record check must
14 immediately send the results of the criminal history record
15 check to the clerk of the court and the Statewide Public
16 Guardianship Office. The clerk of the court shall maintain the
17 results in the professional guardian's file and shall make the
18 results available to the court; or
19 (b) A criminal history record check using a
20 fingerprint card. The clerk of the court shall obtain
21 fingerprint cards from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and
22 make them available to guardians. Any guardian who is so
23 required shall have his or her fingerprints taken and forward
24 the proper fingerprint card along with the necessary fee to
25 the Department of Law Enforcement for processing. The results
26 of the fingerprint card criminal history record checks shall
27 be forwarded to the clerk of the court, who shall maintain the
28 results in the guardian's file and make the results available
29 to the court and the Statewide Public Guardianship Office.
30 (4)(3)(a) A professional guardian, and each employee
31 of a professional guardian who has a fiduciary responsibility
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Florida Senate - 2007 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 2040
Barcode 965628
1 to a ward, must complete, at his or her own expense, a level 2
2 background screening as set forth in s. 435.04 before and at
3 least once every 5 years after the date the guardian is
4 registered appointed. A professional guardian, and each
5 employee of a professional guardian who has a fiduciary
6 responsibility to a ward, must complete, at his or her own
7 expense, a level 1 background screening as set forth in s.
8 435.03 at least once every 2 years after the date the guardian
9 is registered appointed. However, a professional guardian
10 person is not required to resubmit fingerprints for a criminal
11 history record check if he or she has been screened using
12 electronic fingerprinting equipment and the fingerprints are
13 retained by the Department of Law Enforcement in order to
14 notify the clerk of the court of any crime charged against the
15 person in this state or elsewhere, as appropriate.
16 (b) Effective December 15, 2006, All fingerprints
17 electronically submitted to the Department of Law Enforcement
18 under this section shall be retained by the Department of Law
19 Enforcement in a manner provided by rule and entered in the
20 statewide automated fingerprint identification system
21 authorized by s. 943.05(2)(b). The fingerprints shall
22 thereafter be available for all purposes and uses authorized
23 for arrest fingerprint cards entered in the Criminal Justice
24 Information Program under s. 943.051.
25 (c) Effective December 15, 2006, The Department of Law
26 Enforcement shall search all arrest fingerprint cards received
27 under s. 943.051 against the fingerprints retained in the
28 statewide automated fingerprint identification system under
29 paragraph (b). Any arrest record that is identified with the
30 fingerprints of a person described in this paragraph must be
31 reported to the clerk of court. The clerk of court must
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Florida Senate - 2007 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 2040
Barcode 965628
1 forward any arrest record received for a professional guardian
2 to the Statewide Public Guardianship Office within 5 days.
3 Each professional guardian who elects to submit fingerprint
4 information electronically shall participate in this search
5 process by paying an annual fee to the Statewide Public
6 Guardianship Office of the Department of Elderly Affairs and
7 by informing the clerk of court and the Statewide Public
8 Guardianship Office of any change in the status of his or her
9 guardianship appointment. The amount of the annual fee to be
10 imposed for performing these searches and the procedures for
11 the retention of professional guardian fingerprints and the
12 dissemination of search results shall be established by rule
13 of the Department of Law Enforcement. At least once every 5
14 years, the Statewide Public Guardianship Office must request
15 that the Department of Law Enforcement forward the
16 fingerprints maintained under this section to the Federal
17 Bureau of Investigation.
18 (5)(4)(a) A professional guardian, and each employee
19 of a professional guardian who has a fiduciary responsibility
20 to a ward, must complete, at his or her own expense, an
21 investigation of his or her credit history before and at least
22 once every 2 years after the date of the guardian's
23 registration with the Statewide Public Guardianship Office
24 appointment.
25 (b) The Statewide Public Guardianship Office shall
26 adopt a rule detailing the acceptable methods for completing a
27 credit investigation under this section. If appropriate, the
28 Statewide Public Guardianship Office may administer credit
29 investigations. If the office chooses to administer the credit
30 investigation, the office may adopt a rule setting a fee, not
31 to exceed $25, to reimburse the costs associated with the
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Florida Senate - 2007 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 2040
Barcode 965628
1 administration of a credit investigation.
2 (6)(5) The Statewide Public Guardianship Office may
3 inspect at any time the results of any credit or criminal
4 history record check of a public or professional guardian
5 conducted under this section. The office shall maintain copies
6 of the credit or criminal history record check results in the
7 guardian's registration file. If the results of a credit or
8 criminal investigation of a public or professional guardian
9 have not been forwarded to the Statewide Public Guardianship
10 Office by the investigating agency, the clerk of the court
11 shall forward copies of the results of the investigations to
12 the office upon receiving them.
13 (7)(6) The requirements of this section do not apply
14 to a professional guardian, or to the employees of a
15 professional guardian, that is a trust company, a state
16 banking corporation or state savings association authorized
17 and qualified to exercise fiduciary powers in this state, or a
18 national banking association or federal savings and loan
19 association authorized and qualified to exercise fiduciary
20 powers in this state.
21 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2007.
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24 ================ T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ===============
25 And the title is amended as follows:
26 Delete everything before the enacting clause
27
28 and insert:
29 A bill to be entitled
30 An act relating to guardianship; amending s.
31 744.3135, F.S.; revising provisions relating to
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Florida Senate - 2007 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 2040
Barcode 965628
1 criminal history record checks for professional
2 and nonprofessional guardians; requiring the
3 Statewide Public Guardianship Office to adopt
4 rules; revising terminology; deleting obsolete
5 language; revising language concerning
6 investigations of credit histories of
7 professional guardians and certain of their
8 employees; providing an effective date.
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