Freedom and Right to Emancipate from Exploitation (FREE) Act
Bill: H.R.4545 | Sponsor: Rep. Crist, Charlie (D-FL)
Policy area: Law

Summary:
Freedom and Right to Emancipate from Exploitation (FREE) Act
This bill establishes rights for individuals who are subject to legal guardianship or conservatorship.
Specifically, these individuals have the right to
Furthermore, the bill creates a private right of action for individuals whose rights have been violated.
The bill also authorizes the Department of Health and Human Services to provide grants to states to hire state-employed caseworkers, legal guardians, and conservators for legally incompetent adults.



To protect the rights of legally incompetent adults who are the subject 
              of a legal guardianship or conservatorship.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Freedom and Right to Emancipate from 
Exploitation (FREE) Act''.

SEC. 2. GRANTS TO STATES FOR STATE-EMPLOYED CASEWORKERS AND LEGAL 
              GUARDIANS AND CONSERVATORS FOR LEGALLY INCOMPETENT 
              ADULTS.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary may make grants to eligible States, 
in accordance with this section, for the provision of State-employed 
caseworkers, legal guardians, and conservators for legally incompetent 
adults.
    (b) Eligibility.--A State is eligible for a grant under this 
section if the Secretary determines that--
            (1) the State maintains an up-to-date database of all legal 
        guardianships and conservatorships that have been established 
        for legally incompetent adults under State law;
            (2) State law requires a caseworker who is a State employee 
        to be appointed for each individual who is the subject of such 
        a guardianship or conservatorship, and to be empowered, 
        notwithstanding any objection of the legal guardian of, or 
        conservator for, the individual, to communicate with the 
        individual, and to assist the individual in petitioning a court 
        to replace the legal guardian or conservator, as the case may 
        be, with a legal guardian or conservator who is such an 
        employee;
            (3) State law guarantees that, notwithstanding any such 
        guardianship or conservatorship, such an individual retains the 
        right to communicate with such a caseworker, and to petition a 
        court as described in paragraph (2); and
            (4) State law requires any State employee referred to in 
        paragraph (2) to meet such financial disclosure requirements as 
        the State may establish.
    (c) Grant Amounts.--
            (1) In general.--The amount of the grant to be made to a 
        State under this section is the State share of the amount made 
        available to carry out this section.
            (2) State share.--For purposes of paragraph (1), the State 
        share is the total number of legally incompetent adults in the 
        State who are under a legal guardianship or conservatorship 
        divided by the total number of such adults in all States.
    (d) Use of Grant.--A State to which a grant is made under this 
section shall use the grant only to pay the salaries of State employees 
who are serving as caseworkers for, legal guardians of, or conservators 
for legally incompetent adults, and to cover related administrative 
expenses.
    (e) Annual Reports.--Within 90 days after the end of any fiscal 
year in which a grant is made to a State under this section, the State 
shall submit to the Congress a written report that specifies--
            (1) how the funds were used;
            (2) the number of adults under legal guardianship or 
        conservatorship in the State as of the end of the fiscal year;
            (3) the number of petitions described in subsection (b)(2) 
        that were submitted to the courts of the State in the fiscal 
        year;
            (4) the ratio of the number of individuals under legal 
        guardianship or conservatorship in the State during the fiscal 
        year to the number of State-employed legal guardians of, or 
        conservators for, the individuals; and
            (5) the number of individuals in the State who were 
        emancipated from a legal guardianship or conservatorship during 
        the fiscal year.
    (f) Limitations on Authorization of Appropriations.--
            (1) In general.--For grants under this section, there are 
        authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary not more than 
        $260,000,000, of which--
                    (A) $160,000,000 shall be for States to hire 
                caseworkers for legally incompetent adults pursuant to 
                this section; and
                    (B) $100,000,000 shall be for States to hire legal 
                guardians of, or conservators for, legally incompetent 
                adults pursuant to this section.
            (2) Availability.--The amounts made available under 
        paragraph (1) are authorized to remain available until 
        expended.
    (g) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Adult.--The term ``adult'' means a person who has 
        attained 18 years of age and is not in foster care under the 
        responsibility of a State.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Health and Human Services.
            (3) State.--The term ``State'' means the 50 States of the 
        United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of 
        Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, Guam, the 
        Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and American 
        Samoa.

SEC. 3. PROTECTION OF RIGHTS OF LEGALLY INCOMPETENT ADULTS WHO ARE THE 
              SUBJECT OF A LEGAL GUARDIANSHIP OR CONSERVATORSHIP.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds as follows:
            (1) In a November 15, 2019 article, entitled ``Guardian 
        stole more than $500,000 from elderly Pinellas man'', the Tampa 
        Bay Times reported on a private guardian who allegedly stole 
        over $500,000 from a ward over 11 months.
            (2) In an August 2, 2019 article, entitled ``Florida 
        professional guardian Rebecca Fierle: Devoted or dangerous?'' 
        the Orlando Sentinel reported on severe cases of alleged adult 
        guardianship fraud and abuse perpetrated by a private guardian, 
        including physical neglect, deliberate isolation of wards from 
        their families, financial exploitation, and using ``do not 
        resuscitate'' orders without permission.
            (3) Private guardians are at risk for financial conflicts 
        of interest, because a ward's assets, which they usually 
        control, are used to pay the guardian for their services.
            (4) Many persons declared incapacitated by a judge and 
        assigned to a private guardian have not even appeared in court.
            (5) A person deemed incapacitated lacks the legal authority 
        to petition to have their guardian removed or replaced if they 
        believe they are being victimized.
            (6) Pop icon Britney Spears has unsuccessfully petitioned 
        the judicial system to remove her father as her conservator for 
        years.
            (7) Despite the fact that Ms. Spears has been a successful 
        working artist for the past decade, her repeated requests to 
        have her conservatorship removed have been denied.
            (8) The 14th Amendment to the Constitution of the United 
        States protects United States citizens and residents from being 
        deprived of ``life, liberty, or property, without due process 
        of law''.
            (9) The allegations in the Orlando Sentinel and Tampa Bay 
        Times, along with the inability of Britney Spears to free 
        herself from her father's control, indicate that State 
        guardianship and conservatorship systems can deprive a United 
        States citizen or resident of liberty and property without due 
        process.
            (10) In order to restore due process guaranteed by the 14th 
        Amendment to the Constitution of the United States, the Federal 
        government must guarantee that a United States citizen or 
        resident placed under guardianship or conservatorship retains 
        the right to petition to have their private guardian or 
        conservator replaced with a State guardian who is free from any 
        financial conflict of interest.
    (b) Establishment of Right.--An individual who is the subject of a 
legal guardianship or conservatorship established under State law has 
the right to--
            (1) communicate with a caseworker referred to in section 
        2(b)(2), notwithstanding any objection of the legal guardian 
        of, or conservator for, the individual; and
            (2) petition a court to replace any person who is a legal 
        guardian of, or conservator for, the individual and who is not 
        an employee of the State with a legal guardian or conservator, 
        as the case may be, who is an employee of the State or who the 
        individual has designated in a notarized document signed by the 
        individual to act as such, notwithstanding the terms of the 
        guardianship or conservatorship, as the case may be, and in any 
        proceeding on such a petition, the petitioner shall not be 
        required to prove wrongdoing or malfeasance by the legal 
        guardian or conservator, as the case may be, as a condition of 
        having the petition granted.
    (c) Private Right of Action.--An individual who is the subject of a 
legal guardianship or conservatorship established under State law may 
bring an action in any United States district court to enforce any 
right provided by subsection (b). The court may provide the petitioner 
in such an action with such relief as the court deems appropriate.
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