HBA-LCA H.B. 2795 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2795
By: Naishtat
Judicial Affairs
4/21/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Entities such as hospitals or nursing homes sometimes request that a court
appoint Adult Protective Services (APS) as guardian for a person who is
incapacitated, and for whom the responsible party is uncooperative or not
readily ascertainable.  In most cases, APS is unfamiliar with the person's
history, and must make medical and placement decisions  with little or no
knowledge of the person's background, circumstances, or specific needs. 

H.B. 2795 requires an applicant seeking to have a third party named as
guardian to notify the potential guardian in advance.  This notice would
allow the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services, which
administers APS, time to determine whether APS, rather than another entity,
would be appropriate as guardian. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Sections 633(b) and (c), Probate Code, as follows:

(b)  Requires a citation issued under this section to include the name of
the person to be appointed guardian as provided in the application for
guardianship, if that person is not the applicant. 

(c)  Makes a conforming change.

SECTION 2.  Amends Sections 875(e) and (f), Probate Code, as follows:

(e)  Makes conforming changes.

(f)  Prohibits a temporary guardianship from being granted prior to a
hearing under Subdivision (1) of this subsection if an applicant is not the
proposed temporary guardian, unless the proposed temporary guardian appears
in court. 

SECTION 3.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.
            Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 4.  Emergency clause.