II
Calendar No. 277
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 975
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 16, 2013
Ms. Klobuchar (for herself, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Nelson, and Mr. Coons) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
December 19, 2013
Reported by Mr. Leahy, with amendments
Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic
A BILL
To provide for the inclusion of court-appointed guardianship improvement and oversight activities under the Elder Justice Act of 2009.
Short title
This Act may be cited as
the
Court-Appointed Guardian
Accountability and Senior Protection Act
.
Court-appointed guardianship oversight activities under the Elder Justice Act of 2009
Section 2042(c) of the Social Security Act ( 42 U.S.C. 1397m–1(c) ) is amended—
in paragraph (1),
by inserting (and, in the case of demonstration programs described in
paragraph (2)(E), to the highest courts of States)
after
States
;
in paragraph (2)—
in the matter
preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting (and the highest courts of
States, in the case of demonstration programs described in subparagraph
(E))
after local units of government
;
in subparagraph (D), by striking
or
after the semicolon;
by redesignating subparagraph (E) as subparagraph (F); and
by inserting after subparagraph (E), the following new subparagraph:
subject to paragraph (3), programs to assess the fairness, effectiveness, timeliness, safety, integrity, and accessibility of adult guardianship and conservatorship proceedings, including the appointment and the monitoring of the performance of court-appointed guardians and conservators, and to implement changes deemed necessary as a result of the assessments such as mandating background checks for all potential guardians and conservators, and implementing systems to enable the annual accountings and other required conservatorship and guardianship filings to be completed, filed, and reviewed electronically in order to simplify the filing process for conservators and guardians and better enable courts to identify discrepancies and detect fraud and the exploitation of protected persons; or
;
by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), and (5) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respectively;
by inserting after paragraph (2), the following new paragraph:
Requirements for court-appointed guardianship oversight demonstration programs
Award of grants
The Secretary shall award grants
Any grants the Secretary awards to the highest courts of
States for demonstration programs described in paragraph (2)(E) shall be based on the
recommendations of the Attorney General and the State Justice Institute, as established by
section 203 of the State Justice Institute Act of 1984 (
42 U.S.C. 10702
)
.
Collaboration
The highest court of a State awarded a grant to conduct a demonstration program described in paragraph (2)(E) shall collaborate with the State Unit on Aging for the State and the Adult Protective Services agency for the State in conducting the demonstration program.
;
in paragraph (4)
(as redesignated by paragraph (3) of this section), by inserting (and,
in the case of demonstration programs described in paragraph (2)(E), the
highest court of a State)
after a State
; and
in paragraph (5)
(as so redesignated), by inserting (or, in the case of demonstration
programs described in paragraph (2)(E), the highest court of a State)
after State
each place it appears.
December 19, 2013
Reported with amendments