SB55ENROLLED
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0W11GC-3
By Senators Orr, Singleton, Coleman-Madison, Scofield,
Hatcher, Jones, Albritton, Melson, Waggoner, Allen, Barfoot,
Butler, Elliott, Weaver, Sessions, Williams, Chesteen,
Figures, Kelley, Price, Roberts
RFD: Judiciary
First Read: 07-Mar-23
2023 Regular Session
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Enrolled, An Act,
Relating to guardianships and conservatorships; to
create the Colby Act; to provide for a supported
decision-making agreement as an alternative to a guardianship
or conservatorship; and to provide the scope and limitations
of a supported decision-making agreement.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as
the Colby Act.
Section 2. For the purposes of this act, the following
terms have the following meanings:
(1) SUPPORTED DECISION-MAKING. The process of
supporting and accommodating an adult in the decision-making
process without impeding the self-determination of the adult.
This term includes assistance in making, communicating, and
effectuating life decisions.
(2) SUPPORTED DECISION-MAKING AGREEMENT. A written
agreement detailing decision-making supports and
accommodations that an adult chooses to receive from one or
more supporters.
(3) SUPPORTER. An individual at least 18 years of age
who has voluntarily entered into a supported decision-making
agreement with an adult and is designated as such in a
supported decision-making agreement.
Section 3. (a) An adult may not enter into a supported
decision-making agreement as an alternative to guardianship or
conservatorship unless the adult meets both of the following
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conditions:
(1) The adult enters into the agreement voluntarily and
without coercion or undue influence.
(2) The adult understands the nature and effect of the
agreement.
(b) An adult may make, change, or revoke a supported
decision-making agreement.
(c) A court may not consider an adult's execution of a
supported decision-making agreement as evidence of the adult's
incapacity. The existence of an executed supported
decision-making agreement does not preclude the adult from
acting independently of the supported decision-making
agreement.
(d) An adult may not enter into a supported
decision-making agreement under this section if the agreement
supplants the authority of a guardian or conservator of the
adult.
(e) No third-party individual or entity may require an
adult to execute a supported decision-making agreement for any
purpose. For the purposes of this act, the term "third-party
individual or entity" does not include a guardian or
conservator.
Section 4. A document substantially in the following
format may be used to create a supported decision-making
agreement that has the meaning and effect prescribed by this
act.
This document IS ___________ / IS NOT _____________
(check one) legally binding. Only a person with the legal
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right and capacity to contract can make a legally binding
agreement.
I, ________________________ (Name of Principal), make
this supported decision-making agreement to choose supporters
to help me make decisions. I am choosing to make this
agreement. I may end this agreement at any time. These
supporters DO NOT make decisions for me. They give me
information, advice, and other support so I can make decisions
for myself.
DESIGNATION OF SUPPORTERS
HEALTH CARE
I DO ___________ / DO NOT ______________ (check one)
want help with health care. I want the following people to be
my supporters and help me with my health care decisions:
Name of Supporter:
________________________
Relationship to Principal:
________________________
Repeat as needed for each supporter.
I, ___________(Name of Principal), allow these
supporters to help me make decisions about my physical and
mental health. These people do not make decisions for me -
they help me make decisions myself.
These supporters can help me in these ways:
________________________
These supporters MAY NOT do these things:
________________________
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FINANCIAL DECISION-MAKING
I DO ___________ / DO NOT ______________ (check one)
want help with my financial decisions. I want the following
people to be my supporters and help me with my financial
decisions:
Name of Supporter:
________________________
Relationship to Principal:
________________________
Repeat as needed for each supporter.
I, ___________(Name of Principal), allow these
supporters to help me make decisions about my finances. These
people do not make decisions for me - they help me make
decisions myself.
These supporters can help me in these ways:
________________________
These supporters MAY NOT do these things:
________________________
WHERE I LIVE AND COMMUNITY LIVING
I DO ___________ / DO NOT ______________ (check one)
want help with decisions about where I live and community
living. I want the following people to be my supporters and
help me with decisions about where I live:
Name of Supporter:
________________________
Relationship to Principal:
________________________
Repeat as needed for each supporter.
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I, ___________(Name of Principal), allow these
supporters to help me make decisions about where I live and
community living. These people do not make decisions for me -
they help me make decisions myself.
These supporters can help me in these ways:
________________________
These supporters MAY NOT do these things:
________________________
EDUCATION
I DO ___________ / DO NOT ______________ (check one)
want help with decisions about my education. I want the
following people to be my supporters and help me with
decisions about my education:
Name of Supporter:
________________________
Relationship to Principal:
________________________
Repeat as needed for each supporter.
I, ___________(Name of Principal), allow these
supporters to help me make decisions about my education. These
people do not make decisions for me - they help me make
decisions myself.
These supporters can help me in these ways:
________________________
These supporters MAY NOT do these things:
________________________
EMPLOYMENT
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I DO ___________ / DO NOT ______________ (check one)
want help with employment. I want the following people to be
my supporters and help me with my employment:
Name of Supporter:
________________________
Relationship to Principal:
________________________
Repeat as needed for each supporter.
I, ___________(Name of Principal), allow these
supporters to help me make decisions about my employment.
These people do not make decisions for me - they help me make
decisions myself.
These supporters can help me in these ways:
________________________
These supporters MAY NOT do these things:
________________________
OTHER DECISIONS
I DO ___________ / DO NOT ______________ (check one)
want help with other decisions. I want the following people to
be my supporters and help me with other decisions:
Name of Supporter:
________________________
Relationship to Principal:
________________________
Repeat as needed for each supporter.
I, ___________(Name of Principal), allow these
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supporters to help me make certain decisions. These people do
not make decisions for me - they help me make decisions
myself.
These supporters can help me in these ways:
________________________
These supporters MAY NOT do these things:
________________________
SIGNATURE AND ACKNOWLEDGMENT
I agree to be a supporter under this agreement.
(Signature of Supporter):
________________________
Signature Date:
________________________
Supporter Name Printed:
________________________
Supporter Address:
________________________
Supporter Telephone Number:
________________________
Supporter E-mail Address:
________________________
Repeat as needed for each supporter listed in the
supported decision-making agreement.
(Signature of Principal):
________________________
Your Signature Date:
________________________
Your Name Printed:
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________________________
Your Address:
________________________
Your Telephone Number:
________________________
State of:
________________________
[County] of
________________________
I, ____________, a Notary Public, in and for the County
in this State, hereby certify that ____________, whose name is
signed to the foregoing document, and who is known to me,
acknowledged before me on this day that, being informed of the
contents of the document, he or she executed the same
voluntarily on the day the same bears date.
Given under my hand this the ____________ day of
____________, 2___.
________________________
(Seal, if any)
Signature of Notary
My commission expires:
________________________
[This document prepared by:
_______________________]
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Section 5.(a) A supporter shall do all of the
following:
(1) Support the will and preference of the adult and
not the supporter's opinion of the adult's best interest.
(2) Act honestly, diligently, and in good faith.
(3) Act within the scope set forth in the adult's
supported decision-making agreement.
(4) Avoid conflicts of interest.
(5) Timely notify the adult in writing, in the adult's
preferred language and mode of communication, of his or her
intent to resign as a supporter.
(b) A supporter is a fiduciary and shall make and
communicate decisions in cooperation with the adult and
preserve the adult's authority to make decisions.
(c) A supporter shall not do any of the following:
(1) Exert undue influence upon the adult.
(2) Receive a fee or compensation for services
performed in the role of supporter.
(3) Obtain, without the consent of the adult,
information for a purpose other than assisting the adult in
making a specific decision authorized by the supported
decision-making agreement.
(4) Obtain, without the consent of the adult, nonpublic
personal information, as defined by 15 U.S.C. ยง 6809(4).
(5) Act outside the scope of authority provided in the
supported decision-making agreement.
(d) A supporter who is expressly given relevant
authority in a power of attorney may act within the scope of
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that authority to sign instructions or other documents on
behalf of the adult, or to communicate or implement decisions
made by the adult.
(e) A request or decision made or communicated with the
assistance of a supporter in conformity with the supported
decision-making agreement shall be recognized as the request
or decision of the adult for the purposes of any provision of
law.
Section 6. (a) A supported decision-making agreement
shall meet all of the following requirements:
(1) Name at least one supporter.
(2) Describe the decision-making assistance that each
supporter may provide to the adult and how supporters may work
together.
(3) If the adult is subject to a limited guardianship
or conservatorship as provided by Section 67, be executed by
the adult's guardian or conservator.
(4) Be in writing, dated, and signed by the adult in
the presence of a notary public.
(5) Contain a separate consent signed by each supporter
named in the agreement indicating each of the following:
a. The supporter's relationship to the adult.
b. The supporter's willingness to act as a supporter.
c. The supporter's acknowledgment of his or her duties
as a supporter.
(b) A supported decision-making agreement may do any of
the following:
(1) Appoint more than one supporter.
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(2) Appoint an alternate supporter to act in the place
of a supporter under circumstances specified in the agreement.
(3) Authorize a supporter to share information with any
other supporter or others named in the agreement.
Section 7. An adult may revoke a supported
decision-making agreement at any time. A revocation under this
section shall be in writing, and a copy of the revocation
shall be provided to each supporter.
(b) Except as provided in the supported decision-making
agreement, a supported decision-making agreement terminates in
each the following situations:
(1) The adult who is the subject of the supported
decision-making agreement dies.
(2) The adult who is the subject of the supported
decision-making agreement revokes the agreement under
subsection (a).
(3) All of the named supporters withdraw their
participation without arranging for successor supporters
approved by the adult.
(4) A court of competent jurisdiction determines that
the adult does not have the capacity to execute or consent to
a supported decision-making agreement.
(5) A court of competent jurisdiction determines that a
supporter has used the supported decision-making agreement to
financially exploit, abuse, or neglect the adult.
(6) A court of competent jurisdiction appoints a
temporary or permanent guardian or conservator for the person
or property of the adult, unless the court's order of
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appointment does each of the following:
a. Expressly modifies, but continues, the supported
decision-making agreement alongside a partial guardianship or
conservatorship.
b. Limits the powers and duties of the guardian or
conservator.
(7) The adult signs a valid durable power of attorney,
except to the extent that the power of attorney expressly
continues, in whole or in part, the supported decision-making
agreement.
(c) The court may enter an order pursuant to
subdivision (b)(4), (b)(5), or (b)(6) only after providing
notice and a hearing to the adult and all supporters named in
the agreement.
Section 8. A supported decision-making agreement that
complies with Section 34 is presumed valid. A party may rely
on the presumption of validity unless the party has actual
knowledge that the supported decision-making agreement was not
validly executed.
Section 9. (a) A person who in good faith relies on an
authorization in a supported decision-making agreement is not
subject to discipline for unprofessional conduct.
(b) This section does not apply to a person whose act
or omission amounts to fraud, misrepresentation, recklessness,
or willful or wanton misconduct.
Section 10. (a) The meaning and effect of a supported
decision-making agreement is determined by the law of the
jurisdiction in which the supported decision-making agreement
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was executed, unless the supported decision-making agreement
provides otherwise.
(b) A person who receives a copy of a supported
decision-making agreement or is aware of the existence of a
supported decision-making agreement and reasonably believes
that an adult is being abused, neglected, or exploited shall
report the alleged abuse, neglect, or exploitation to an adult
protective services agency or an authorized law enforcement
agency.
Section 11. This act shall become effective on the
first day of the third month following its passage and
approval by the Governor, or its otherwise becoming law.
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________________________________________________
President and Presiding Officer of the Senate
________________________________________________
Speaker of the House of Representatives
SB55
Senate 05-Apr-23
I hereby certify that the within Act originated in and passed
the Senate, as amended.
Patrick Harris,
Secretary.
House of Representatives
Amended and passed: 20-Apr-23
Senate concurred in House amendment 27-Apr-23
By: Senator Orr
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