(Source: MIRS.news, Published 07/14/23) A package of bills spearheaded by Rep. Graham Filler (R-St. Johns) will again attempt to address alleged wrongdoings within the state’s guardianship and conservatorship systems by providing additional regulations and certification processes.
Filler said the legislation will again follow recommendations from Attorney General Dana Nessel’s 2019 Elder Abuse Task Force, along with incorporating amendments made when the package was first introduced by Filler in 2021.
“I know many guardians and conservators are working hard, doing their best to protect their wards, but, unfortunately, there are also some bad actors in the mix,” Filler said. “These people are out there trying to take advantage of those who can’t defend themselves. It’s a disgrace, and it’s time to put an end to it.”
His original 2021 four-bill package, House Bills 4847-4850, was introduced to address concerns by Michiganders who had loved ones declared incapable of making their own legal, medical or financial decisions.
But instead of being put in the care of a family member, they said courts handed over control to a state-appointed guardian, who kept wards away from family, medicated them and, in some cases, drained their bank accounts.
Filler’s initial legislation was supported during House Judiciary testimony by Nessel, who created the Elder Abuse Task Force in 2019 with nearly 55 organizations and more than 100 individuals creating policy recommendations.
That package was strongly opposed by the Michigan Guardian Association (MGA), whose members said the bill language would cripple the guardianship industry.
The bills did not make it across the finish line before the end of the legislative session, and the MGA worked with the House and Senate to introduce their own professional certification legislation in June 2022. Those bills also did not move.
Filler said substitutes made in the House Judiciary committee helped get more groups on board, and with bipartisan sponsors, he believes the bills would see more movement this time around.
“It doesn't have a partisan tinge at all,” he said. “It's just, ‘Do you think that there should be additional safeguards in the guardianship process?’ And I do, and I think a lot of people do.”
He said amendments got stakeholders to a good place, where they either supported the bill package or remained neutral, which he hopes to continue.
“I feel like a lot of the hard work has been done,” Filler said.
Upon being voted out of committee, the original package was supported by the Alzheimer's Association, the Michigan Elder Justice Initiative, the Michigan Sheriffs' Association, the Michigan Elder Justice Coordinating Council, the Elder Law of Michigan and several representatives of guardians and victims, according to a June 21, 2022, transcript.
The package was opposed at that time by the Michigan Guardianship Association, CPAN, The Arc Michigan and the Community Mental Health Association of Michigan.
The Michigan Guardianship Association did not respond to a request for comment on whether they would support the package this time around.
Filler said the premise for HB’s 4909 - 4912 would remain the same, including increasing training for guardians, more procedural safeguards for guardian appointments and more transparency for wards’ property and assets, along with a certification process.
But he said changes that were included in the original substitute, including the removal of exemptions for family members and attorney-guardians from certification, the inclusion of a “dedicated decision maker” within an agency for a ward, making financial documents available on request and scaling back a monthly visit requirement to quarterly in-person visits, will likely also be included.
“There are really good guardians and then there are people who take advantage of the system,” Filler said, “and we want to make it harder for these individuals to take advantage of the system and harm vulnerable and elderly folks. We think this bill will add some safeguards without being too burdensome on guardians.”
Filler said establishing requirements for guardian certification is one piece of the package that needs to be finalized, along with establishing which state department would run the oversight board.
He said legislation establishing the board would likely be in a follow-up bill.
The bills have not yet been formally read in or shared online, but Filler said Reps. Kelly Breen (D-Novi), Ken Borton (R-Gaylord), Penelope Tsernoglou (D-East Lansing) and Betsy Coffia (D-Traverse City) would also be involved.
Filler said he’s making a big push for the legislation to be a fall focus.
