II 

Calendar No. 277 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 975 

To provide for the inclusion of court-appointed guardianship improvement 

and oversight activities under the Elder Justice Act of 2009. 

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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Court-Appointed 

5 Guardian Accountability and Senior Protection Act’’. 


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•S 975 RS

1 SEC. 2. COURT-APPOINTED GUARDIANSHIP OVERSIGHT AC2 TIVITIES UNDER THE ELDER JUSTICE ACT OF 

3 2009. 

4 Section 2042(c) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

5 1397m–1(c)) is amended— 

6 (1) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘(and, in the 

7 case of demonstration programs described in para8 graph (2)(E), to the highest courts of States)’’ after 

9 ‘‘States’’; 

10 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

11 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

12 (A), by inserting ‘‘(and the highest courts of 

13 States, in the case of demonstration programs 

14 described in subparagraph (E))’’ after ‘‘local 

15 units of government’’; 

16 (B) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘or’’ 

17 after the semicolon; 

18 (C) by redesignating subparagraph (E) as 

19 subparagraph (F); and 

20 (D) by inserting after subparagraph (E), 

21 the following new subparagraph: 

22 ‘‘(E) subject to paragraph (3), programs 

23 to assess the fairness, effectiveness, timeliness, 

24 safety, integrity, and accessibility of adult 

25 guardianship and conservatorship proceedings, 

26 including the appointment and the monitoring 


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•S 975 RS

1 of the performance of court-appointed guard2 ians and conservators, and to implement 

3 changes deemed necessary as a result of the as4 sessments such as mandating background 

5 checks for all potential guardians and conserva6 tors, and implementing systems to enable the 

7 annual accountings and other required con8 servatorship and guardianship filings to be com9 pleted, filed, and reviewed electronically in order 

10 to simplify the filing process for conservators 

11 and guardians and better enable courts to iden12 tify discrepancies and detect fraud and the ex13 ploitation of protected persons; or’’; 

14 (3) by redesignating paragraphs (3), (4), and 

15 (5) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respectively; 

16 (4) by inserting after paragraph (2), the fol17 lowing new paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS FOR COURT-APPOINTED

19 GUARDIANSHIP OVERSIGHT DEMONSTRATION PRO20 GRAMS.— 

21 ‘‘(A) AWARD OF GRANTS.—The Secretary 

22 shall award grants Any grants the Secretary 

23 awards to the highest courts of States for dem24 onstration programs described in paragraph 

25 (2)(E) shall be based on the recommendations 


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•S 975 RS

1 of the Attorney General and the State Justice 

2 Institute, as established by section 203 of the 

3 State Justice Institute Act of 1984 (42 U.S.C. 

4 10702). 

5 ‘‘(B) COLLABORATION.—The highest court 

6 of a State awarded a grant to conduct a dem7 onstration program described in paragraph 

8 (2)(E) shall collaborate with the State Unit on 

9 Aging for the State and the Adult Protective 

10 Services agency for the State in conducting the 

11 demonstration program.’’; 

12 (5) in paragraph (4) (as redesignated by para13 graph (3) of this section), by inserting ‘‘(and, in the 

14 case of demonstration programs described in para15 graph (2)(E), the highest court of a State)’’ after ‘‘a 

16 State’’; and 

17 (6) in paragraph (5) (as so redesignated), by 

18 inserting ‘‘(or, in the case of demonstration pro19 grams described in paragraph (2)(E), the highest 

20 court of a State)’’ after ‘‘State’’ each place it ap21 pears. 


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Calendar No. 277 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 975 

A BILL 

To provide for the inclusion of court-appointed 

ties under the Elder Justice Act of 2009. guardianship improvement and oversight activiDECEMBER 19, 2013 

Reported with amendments 


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