HB413INTRODUCED
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HB413
YFDGN26-1
By Representative Almond
RFD: Children and Senior Advocacy
First Read: 04-Apr-24
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5 YFDGN26-1 04/04//2024 GP (L)lg 2024-978
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First Read: 04-Apr-24
SYNOPSIS:
This bill would establish the Guardianship Bill
of Rights to provide adults with guardians certain
rights relating to access to justice, core human
rights, and decision-making.
A BILL
TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
Relating to adults with guardians; to establish the
Guardianship Bill of Rights; to provide adults with guardians
certain rights relating to access to justice, core human
rights, and decision-making.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF ALABAMA:
Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as
the Guardianship Bill of Rights.
Section 2. (a) For the purposes of this act, the
following terms have the following meanings:
(1) ADULT. An individual who has reached the age of
majority pursuant to Section 26-1-1, Code of Alabama 1975.
(2) GUARDIAN. The same meaning as Section 26-2A-20,
Code of Alabama 1975.
(b) Each adult with a guardian has the right to access
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(b) Each adult with a guardian has the right to access
justice, which includes the right of each adult with a
guardian to:
(1) Maintain all rights that the court has not granted
to his or her guardian;
(2) A lawyer who advocates for the outcome that he or
she desires;
(3) Be present and participate in all court hearings
relating to him or her;
(4) Inform the court of his or her concerns or
complaints about his or her guardianship or guardian;
(5) Ask the court to review whether to change,
continue, or end his or her guardianship and to review whether
his or her guardian is right for him or her;
(6) If there is a question about his or her capacity to
exercise a specific right, have a qualified person evaluate
his or her abilities and whether some or all of his or her
rights should be restored;
(7) Support and accommodations as necessary to
effectively communicate with the court and to understand court
proceedings; and
(8) Have his or her rights explained in the method of
communication and in the language that he or she chooses.
(c) Each adult with a guardian retains core human
rights, including the right of each adult with a guardian to:
(1) Be treated with dignity and respect;
(2) Be free from abuse, neglect, exploitation, and
discrimination;
(3) Remain as independent as possible;
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(3) Remain as independent as possible;
(4) Express and practice his or her own religious
preferences;
(5) Personal privacy; and
(6) Humane, safe, and sanitary living, learning, and
working environments.
(c) Each adult with a guardian retains decision-making
rights, including the right to:
(1) A competent guardian who advocates for and respects
his or her goals, needs, preferences, and desires, including
but not limited to those relating to medical treatment,
cultural practices, and religious beliefs;
(2) Fully participate in all decisions to the extent
that he or she desires to and is able to be involved,
especially those decisions affecting his or her care, living
situation, activities, and social interactions;
(3) Receive necessary services and rehabilitation in
the least restrictive conditions, within available resources
and which protect his or her personal privacy;
(4) Have his or her guardian prudently manage his or
her resources;
(5) Fully participate in decisions relating to the
management of his or her property, to the extent that he or
she desires to and is able to be involved; and
(6) Keep confidential those matters that he or she
wishes to keep confidential, unless that information is
necessary to: (i) obtain services; (ii) prevent abuse,
neglect, or exploitation; or (iii) modify his or her
guardianship order.
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guardianship order.
(d) The rights provided in this section are together
with, and in addition to, the rights of an adult with a
guardian otherwise provided by the law.
Section 3. This act shall become effective on October
1, 2024.
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