SFC/SB 535
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AN ACT
RELATING TO THE PUBLIC PEACE, HEALTH, SAFETY AND WELFARE;
INCREASING FEES TO FUND THE WORKERS' COMPENSATION
ADMINISTRATION; INCREASING CERTAIN FEES; PROVIDING FOR THE
ENFORCEMENT OF FEES BY THE PUBLIC REGULATION COMMISSION;
INCREASING THE 911 EMERGENCY SURCHARGE; INCREASING THE
TELECOMMUNICATIONS RELAY SERVICE SURCHARGE AND TRANSFERRING
THE MONEY FROM THE INCREASE TO A NEW 988 LIFELINE FUND;
ALLOWING THE STATE BUDGET DIVISION OF THE DEPARTMENT OF
FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATION TO APPROVE THE EXPENDITURE
OF UP TO ONE HUNDRED PERCENT OF THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS
ACCESS FUND FOR EXPENSES INCURRED BY THE COMMISSION FOR
DEAF AND HARD-OF-HEARING PERSONS IN ADMINISTERING THE
TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACCESS ACT; ENACTING THE SUPPORTED
DECISION-MAKING ACT; PROVIDING REQUIREMENTS FOR SUPPORTED
DECISION-MAKING AGREEMENTS; PROVIDING DUTIES FOR SUPPORTERS;
CREATING REPORTING REQUIREMENTS; CREATING A SUPPORTED
DECISION-MAKING PROGRAM IN THE OFFICE OF GUARDIANSHIP WITHIN
THE DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES COUNCIL; MAKING AN
APPROPRIATION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO:
SECTION 1. Section 52-5-19 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1987,
Chapter 235, Section 52, as amended) is amended to read:
"52-5-19. FEE FOR FUNDING ADMINISTRATION– SFC/SB 535
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WORKERS' COMPENSATION ADMINISTRATION FUND CREATED.--
A. Beginning with the calendar quarter ending
September 30, 2004 and for each calendar quarter thereafter,
there is assessed against each employer who is required or
elects to be covered by the Workers' Compensation Act a fee
equal to the following amounts, multiplied by the number
of employees covered by the Workers' Compensation Act that
the employer has on the last working day of each quarter:
(1) prior to July 1, 2025, two dollars
thirty cents ($2.30);
(2) beginning July 1, 2025 and prior to
July 1, 2028, two dollars fifty-five cents ($2.55);
(3) beginning July 1, 2028 and prior to
July 1, 2033, two dollars sixty-eight cents ($2.68); and
(4) beginning July 1, 2033, two dollars
eighty cents ($2.80).
B. At the same time the fee pursuant to Subsection
A of this section is assessed, there is assessed against each
employee covered by the Workers' Compensation Act on the last
working day of each quarter a fee in the following amounts,
which shall be deducted from the wages of the employee by the
employer and remitted along with the fee assessed on the
employer:
(1) prior to July 1, 2025, two dollars
($2.00); SFC/SB 535
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(2) beginning July 1, 2025 and prior to
July 1, 2028, two dollars twenty-five cents ($2.25);
(3) beginning July 1, 2028 and prior to
July 1, 2033, two dollars thirty-eight cents ($2.38); and
(4) beginning July 1, 2033, two dollars
fifty cents ($2.50).
C. The fees shall be remitted by the last day
of the month following the end of the quarter for which they
are due.
D. The taxation and revenue department may
deduct from the gross fees collected an amount not to exceed
five percent of the gross fees collected to reimburse the
department for costs of administration.
E. The taxation and revenue department shall pay
over the net fees collected to the state treasurer to be
deposited by the treasurer in a fund hereby created and to
be known as the "workers' compensation administration fund".
Expenditures shall be made from this fund on vouchers signed
by the director for the necessary expenses of the workers'
compensation administration; provided that an amount equal
to thirty cents ($.30) per employee of the fee assessed
against an employer shall be distributed from the workers'
compensation administration fund to the uninsured employers'
fund.
F. The workers' compensation fee authorized in SFC/SB 535
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this section shall be administered and enforced by the
taxation and revenue department under the provisions of the
Tax Administration Act."
SECTION 2. Section 62-8-8 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1967,
Chapter 96, Section 6, as amended) is amended to read:
"62-8-8. INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION FEE.--
A. Each utility doing business in this state and
subject to the control and jurisdiction of the commission
with respect to its rates or service regulations shall pay
annually to the state a fee for the inspection and
supervision of such business in an amount equal to five
hundred ninety thousandths percent of its gross receipts from
business transacted in New Mexico for the preceding calendar
year. That sum shall be payable on the last day of July in
each year. An inspection and supervision fee shall be paid
by utilities in addition to all property, franchise, license,
intangible and other taxes, fees and charges provided by law.
No similar inspection and supervision fee shall be measured
by the amount of the gross receipts of such utility for the
calendar year next preceding the date fixed in this section
for the payment of the fee. In the case of utilities engaged
in interstate business, the inspection and supervision fee
shall be measured by the gross receipts of those utilities
from intrastate business only for that preceding calendar
year and not in any respect upon receipts derived wholly SFC/SB 535
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or in part from interstate business. No inspection and
supervision fee shall be charged on the gross receipts from
the sale of gas, water or electricity to a utility regulated
by the commission for resale to the public.
B. Prior to July 1, 2031, the fees established
pursuant to this section may be adjusted annually by the
commission; provided that any increase shall not be greater
than the prior year's increase in the employment cost index
for state and local government as published by the federal
bureau of labor statistics."
SECTION 3. Section 62-13-2 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1957,
Chapter 25, Section 2, as amended) is amended to read:
"62-13-2. FEES.--The commission shall collect fees for
the following, which shall be remitted to the state treasurer
not later than the day following receipt; provided that the
commission may increase by administrative rule the fees set
forth in this section in amounts that do not exceed the cost
of administrative proceedings before the commission:
A. for filing any rate schedule, service
rule or regulation or sample form, or amendment thereto,
one dollar ($1.00);
B. for filing each application, petition or
complaint, twenty-five dollars ($25.00);
C. for copies of papers, testimony and records,
the reasonable cost of such copies as the commission may SFC/SB 535
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provide from time to time by rule; and
D. for certifying any copy of any paper, testimony
or record, two dollars ($2.00)."
SECTION 4. Section 63-7-20 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1951,
Chapter 194, Section 1, as amended) is amended to read:
"63-7-20. UTILITY INSPECTION--FEE.--
A. Each utility doing business in this state that
is subject to the control and jurisdiction of the commission
by virtue of the provisions of Article 11 of the constitution
of New Mexico with respect to its rates and service shall pay
annually to the commission a fee in performance of its duties
as now provided by law. The fee for utilities shall not
exceed five hundred ninety thousandths percent of its gross
receipts from business transacted in New Mexico for the
preceding calendar year. This sum shall be payable annually
on July 31 in each year. No similar fee shall be imposed
upon the utility. In the case of utilities engaged in
interstate business, the fees shall be measured by the gross
receipts of the utilities from intrastate business only for
the preceding calendar year and not in any respect upon
receipts derived wholly or in part from interstate business.
Prior to July 1, 2031, the fees established pursuant to this
section may be adjusted annually by the commission; provided
that any increase shall not be greater than the prior year's
increase in the employment cost index for state and local SFC/SB 535
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government, as published by the federal bureau of labor
statistics. As used in this section, "utility" includes
telephone companies and transmission companies but does not
include public utilities subject to the Public Utility Act.
B. When a fee is not paid on the date it is due,
interest shall be paid to the state on the amount due. The
interest on the amount due shall start to accrue on the day
following the due date and shall continue to accrue until the
total amount due is paid. The rate of interest on a late fee
payment shall be fifteen percent per year, computed at the
rate of one and one-fourth percent per month.
C. In addition to any interest due on a late fee
payment, a penalty shall be paid to the state for failure
to pay the fee when it is due. The penalty imposed shall be
two percent of the amount of the fee due.
D. The commission shall bring suit to collect
fees, interest and penalties that remain unpaid."
SECTION 5. Section 63-9D-5 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1989,
Chapter 25, Section 5, as amended) is amended to read:
"63-9D-5. IMPOSITION OF SURCHARGE.--
A. A 911 emergency surcharge is imposed in the
amount of one dollar ($1.00) to be billed to each subscriber
access line by a communications service provider, on each
active number for a commercial mobile radio service
subscriber and on the number of VoIP lines for which the VoIP SFC/SB 535
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service provider enables the capacity for simultaneous calls,
regardless of actual usage, to be connected to the public
switched telephone network during the period for which the
fixed charge is imposed. The surcharge is imposed on all
subscribers whose place of primary use, as defined in the
federal Mobile Telecommunications Sourcing Act, is in
New Mexico; provided, however, that the surcharge shall not
be imposed upon subscribers receiving reduced rates pursuant
to the Low Income Telephone Service Assistance Act; and
provided further that the surcharge shall not apply to
prepaid wireless communication service; and provided further
that a 911 emergency surcharge shall not be assessed on
the provision of broadband internet access service.
B. A communications service provider shall bill
and collect the surcharge from subscribers whose places of
primary use, as defined in the federal Mobile
Telecommunications Sourcing Act, are in New Mexico. The
surcharge required to be collected by the communications
service provider shall be added to and stated clearly and
separately in the billings to the subscriber. The surcharge
collected by the communications service provider shall not
be considered revenue of the communications service provider.
C. A billed subscriber is liable for payment of
the 911 emergency surcharge until it has been paid to the
communications service provider. SFC/SB 535
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D. A communications service provider has no
obligation to take legal action to enforce the collection
of the surcharge; an action may be brought by or on behalf
of the department. A communications service provider, upon
request and not more than once a year, shall provide to the
department a list of the surcharge amounts uncollected, along
with the names and addresses of subscribers who carry a
balance that can be determined by the communications service
provider to be nonpayment of the surcharge. The
communications service provider shall not be held liable for
uncollected surcharge amounts."
SECTION 6. Section 63-9F-11 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1993,
Chapter 54, Section 11, as amended) is amended to read:
"63-9F-11. IMPOSITION OF SURCHARGE.--
A. A telecommunications relay service surcharge
of one and sixty-six hundredths percent is imposed on the
gross amount paid:
(1) by customers, except customers whose
telephone service rates are reduced as authorized by the
Low Income Telephone Service Assistance Act, for intrastate
telecommunications services provided in this state;
(2) by customers for the intrastate portion
of interconnected voice over internet protocol service;
(3) by customers for intrastate mobile
telecommunications services that originate and terminate SFC/SB 535
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in the same state, regardless of where the mobile
telecommunications services originate, terminate or pass
through, provided by home service providers to customers
whose place of primary use is in New Mexico; and
(4) by a prepaid consumer in a retail
transaction.
B. The telecommunications relay service surcharge
shall be included on the monthly bill of each customer
of a local exchange company or other telecommunications
company providing intrastate telecommunications services,
interconnected voice over internet protocol services or
intrastate mobile telecommunications services and paid at the
time of payment of the monthly bill. Receipts from selling
those services to any other telecommunications company or
provider for resale are not subject to the surcharge. The
customer is liable for the payment of the surcharge to the
provider of intrastate mobile telecommunications services,
the provider of interconnected voice over internet protocol
services or the local exchange company or other
telecommunications company providing intrastate
telecommunications services to the customer.
C. For the purposes of the surcharge imposed on a
retail transaction pursuant to Paragraph (4) of Subsection A
of this section:
(1) the surcharge shall be collected by the SFC/SB 535
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seller from the prepaid consumer with respect to each retail
transaction occurring in this state. The amount of the
surcharge shall be either separately stated on an invoice,
receipt or other similar document that is provided to the
prepaid consumer by the seller or otherwise disclosed to the
prepaid consumer;
(2) for the purposes of Paragraph (1) of
this subsection, a retail transaction that is effected in
person by a prepaid consumer at a business location of the
seller shall be treated as occurring in this state if that
business location is in this state, and any other retail
transaction is treated as occurring in this state if the
retail transaction is treated as occurring in this state
for purposes of the Gross Receipts and Compensating Tax Act;
(3) the surcharge is the liability of
the prepaid consumer and not of the seller or any provider,
except that the seller shall be liable to remit all
surcharges collected from the prepaid consumer as provided
in this subsection, including all such surcharges that the
seller is deemed to collect where the amount of the surcharge
has not been separately stated on an invoice, receipt or
other similar document provided to the prepaid consumer by
the seller;
(4) the amount of the surcharge that is
collected by a seller from a prepaid consumer, if such amount SFC/SB 535
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is separately stated on an invoice, receipt or other similar
document provided to the prepaid consumer by the seller,
shall not be included in the base for measuring any tax, fee,
surcharge or other charge that is imposed by this state, any
political subdivision of this state or any intergovernmental
agency;
(5) when prepaid wireless communications
service is sold with one or more other products or services
for a single, non-itemized price, the percentage specified
in Subsection A of this section shall apply to the entire
non-itemized price unless the seller elects to apply such
percentage to:
(a) if the amount of the prepaid
wireless communications service is disclosed to the prepaid
consumer as a dollar amount, such dollar amount; or
(b) if the seller can identify the
portion of the price that is attributable to the prepaid
wireless communications service by reasonable and verifiable
standards from its books and records that are kept in the
regular course of business for other purposes, including
non-tax purposes, such portion;
(6) if a minimal amount of prepaid wireless
communications service is sold with a prepaid wireless device
for a single, non-itemized price, the seller may elect not
to apply the percentage specified in Subsection A of this SFC/SB 535
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section to such transaction. For the purposes of this
paragraph, an amount of service denominated as ten minutes
or less, or five dollars ($5.00) or less, is minimal;
(7) surcharges collected by sellers shall be
remitted to the taxation and revenue department at the times
and in the manner provided with respect to the Gross Receipts
and Compensating Tax Act. The department shall establish
registration and payment procedures that substantially
coincide with the registration and payment procedures that
apply to the Gross Receipts and Compensating Tax Act. A
seller shall be permitted to deduct and retain three percent
of surcharges that are collected by the seller from the
prepaid consumer;
(8) the audit and appeal procedures
applicable to the Gross Receipts and Compensating Tax Act
shall apply to the surcharge;
(9) the taxation and revenue department
shall establish procedures by which a seller of prepaid
wireless communications services may document that a sale
is not a retail transaction, which procedures shall
substantially coincide with the procedures for documenting
sale for resale transactions for the Gross Receipts and
Compensating Tax Act; and
(10) notwithstanding Paragraph (1) of this
subsection, if a 911 surcharge is imposed on prepaid wireless SFC/SB 535
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communications service pursuant to the Enhanced 911 Act,
the taxation and revenue department shall promulgate rules
to permit sellers to combine the surcharge imposed pursuant
to this section and the surcharge imposed pursuant to the
Enhanced 911 Act into a single surcharge on the invoice,
receipt or other similar document that is provided to
the prepaid consumer. The department shall ensure that
appropriate surcharge revenues are directed proportionately
to the respective 911 and telecommunications relay service
funds.
D. A telecommunications company providing
intrastate telecommunications services, a home service
provider providing intrastate mobile telecommunications
services and a seller of interconnected voice over internet
protocol services shall, on sales subject to the
telecommunications relay service surcharge, assess and
collect the surcharge and remit the surcharge collected
monthly to the taxation and revenue department on or before
the twenty-fifth day of the month following collection. The
department shall administer and enforce the collection of
the surcharge in accordance with the Tax Administration Act.
E. The taxation and revenue department shall
transfer the following amounts of the net receipts of the
telecommunications relay service surcharge collected, less
any amount deducted in accordance with Subsection F of this SFC/SB 535
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section, within the month following the month in which the
surcharge is collected:
(1) twenty percent to the telecommunications
access fund; and
(2) eighty percent to the 988 lifeline fund.
F. The taxation and revenue department may
deduct an amount not to exceed three percent of the
telecommunications relay service surcharge collected as a
charge for the administrative costs of collection and shall
remit that amount to the state treasurer for deposit in the
general fund each month.
G. The commission and the health care authority
shall report to the revenue stabilization and tax policy
committee annually by September 30 the following information
with respect to the prior fiscal year:
(1) the amount and source of revenue
received by the telecommunications access fund and the
988 lifeline fund;
(2) the amount and category of expenditures
from the funds; and
(3) the balance of the funds on that
June 30."
SECTION 7. Section 63-9F-12 NMSA 1978 (being Laws 1993,
Chapter 54, Section 12, as amended) is amended to read:
"63-9F-12. TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACCESS FUND-- SFC/SB 535
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ESTABLISHED.--There is created in the state treasury the
"telecommunications access fund". Money appropriated to
the fund or accruing to it through gifts, grants, fees,
surcharges, penalties or bequests shall be delivered to the
state treasurer for deposit in the fund. The fund shall be
invested as other state funds are invested. Disbursements
from the fund shall be made upon warrants drawn by the
secretary of finance and administration pursuant to vouchers
signed by the executive director of the commission. The
commission shall administer the fund. Money in the fund is
appropriated to the commission for the purpose of carrying
out the provisions of the Telecommunications Access Act.
The commission may request the state budget division of
the department of finance and administration to approve the
expenditure of funds deposited in the telecommunications
access fund for the purpose of defraying salary and other
necessary expenses incurred by the commission in the
administration of the provisions of the Telecommunications
Access Act. The state budget division may approve the
expenditure of up to one hundred percent of the amount
deposited in the telecommunications access fund during any
fiscal year for expenses incurred by the commission in
administering that act. In addition, money in the fund is
subject to appropriation by the legislature to the commission
for the performance of its duties pursuant to Chapter 28, SFC/SB 535
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Article 11B NMSA 1978 and to the signed language interpreting
practices fund for the purpose of defraying salary and
other necessary expenses incurred by the signed language
interpreting practices board. Any unexpended or unencumbered
balance remaining in the fund at the end of any fiscal year
shall not revert."
SECTION 8. 988 LIFELINE FUND.--The "988 lifeline fund"
is created as a nonreverting fund in the state treasury.
The fund consists of distributions, appropriations, gifts,
grants, donations and income from investment of the fund.
The health care authority shall administer the fund, and
money in the fund is appropriated to the authority to
administer a confidential telecommunication service for
emotional, mental or alcohol and drug use support made
available to the public by the authority. Expenditures from
the fund shall be by warrant of the secretary of finance and
administration pursuant to vouchers signed by the secretary
of health care authority or the secretary's authorized
representative.
SECTION 9. SHORT TITLE.--Sections 9 through 22 of
this act may be cited as the "Supported Decision-Making Act".
SECTION 10. DEFINITIONS.--As used in the Supported
Decision-Making Act:
A. "adult" means a person who is at least eighteen
years of age; SFC/SB 535
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B. "decision-maker" means an adult who seeks
to enter, or has entered, into a supported decision-making
agreement with one or more supporters pursuant to the
Supported Decision-Making Act;
C. "decision-making support" means assistance in
understanding the options, responsibilities and consequences
of a decision-maker's life decisions without making those
decisions on behalf of the decision-maker;
D. "supported decision-making agreement" means
an agreement entered into between a decision-maker and a
supporter pursuant to the provisions of the Supported
Decision-Making Act; and
E. "supporter" means an adult who has entered into
a supported decision-making agreement with a decision-maker
pursuant to the Supported Decision-Making Act.
SECTION 11. SUPPORTED DECISION-MAKING AGREEMENTS--
SCOPE OF AGREEMENTS.--A decision-maker may voluntarily,
without undue influence or coercion, enter into a supported
decision-making agreement with one or more supporters under
which the decision-maker authorizes the supporter to do any
or all of the following:
A. provide decision-making support;
B. assist the decision-maker in accessing,
collecting and obtaining information that is relevant to
a given life decision, including medical, psychological, SFC/SB 535
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financial, educational or treatment records, from any person;
C. assist the decision-maker in understanding the
information described in Subsection B of this section; and
D. assist the decision-maker in communicating
the decision-maker's decisions to appropriate persons.
SECTION 12. SUPPORTED DECISION-MAKING AGREEMENT
REQUIREMENTS.--
A. A supported decision-making agreement shall
be in a form promulgated by the supreme court that shall:
(1) be in writing;
(2) be dated;
(3) be signed voluntarily, without coercion
or undue influence, by the decision-maker and the supporter;
(4) designate a supporter;
(5) list the types of decisions with which
the supporter is authorized to assist the decision-maker;
(6) list the types of decisions, if any,
with which the supporter is not authorized to assist the
decision-maker; and
(7) contain a consent signed by the
supporter indicating the supporter's:
(a) relationship to the decision-maker;
(b) willingness to act as a supporter;
and
(c) acknowledgment of the duties of SFC/SB 535
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a supporter.
B. Each party to a supported decision-making
agreement shall sign the agreement in the presence of at
least two adult witnesses whose signatures shall be
acknowledged by a notary public.
SECTION 13. PRESUMPTION OF CAPACITY.--
A. All decision-makers are presumed to have
capacity until such time as the decision-maker's primary care
practitioner and one other qualified health professional
with training and experience in the assessment of functional
impairment, or a court, determine that the decision-maker
is unable to make the decision-maker's own decisions. A
diagnosis of mental illness, intellectual disability or
developmental disability, of itself, does not void the
presumption of capacity.
B. The manner in which a decision-maker
communicates with others is not grounds for determining
that the decision-maker is incapable of managing the
decision-maker's own affairs.
C. The execution of a supported decision-making
agreement may not be used as evidence of capacity or
incapacity in any civil or criminal proceeding and does not
preclude the ability of the decision-maker who has entered
into a supported decision-making agreement to act
independently of the agreement. SFC/SB 535
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SECTION 14. SUPPORTER DUTIES AND AUTHORITY--
SUPPORTER PROHIBITIONS.--
A. A supporter shall:
(1) act in good faith;
(2) act with the care, competence and
diligence ordinarily exercised by a reasonable person in
similar circumstances;
(3) act only within the scope of authority
granted in the supported decision-making agreement;
(4) not engage in self-dealing;
(5) support the will and preference of the
decision-maker rather than the supporter's opinion of the
decision-maker's best interests;
(6) not receive compensation as a result
of the supporter's duties under a supported decision-making
agreement; and
(7) stop serving as a supporter if the
supporter questions the capacity of the decision-maker to
continue making decisions.
B. In the absence of an applicable power of
attorney a supporter is prohibited from:
(1) making decisions on behalf of the
decision-maker;
(2) signing legal documents on behalf of
the decision-maker; SFC/SB 535
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(3) binding the decision-maker to a legal
agreement;
(4) obtaining, without the consent of the
decision-maker, information that is not reasonably related
to matters with which the supporter is authorized to assist
pursuant to the supported decision-making agreement; and
(5) using, without the consent of the
decision-maker, information acquired for a purpose other than
assisting the decision-maker to make a decision under the
supported decision-making agreement.
SECTION 15. SUPPORTER DISQUALIFICATIONS.--The following
persons are disqualified from acting as a supporter:
A. an individual who is the subject of a civil or
criminal order prohibiting contact with the decision-maker;
B. an individual who has been placed on the
state's employee abuse registry;
C. an individual who has been convicted of a crime
involving violence or dishonesty within the preceding ten
years; and
D. an individual who is currently incarcerated.
SECTION 16. ACCESS TO PERSONAL INFORMATION.--If a
supporter assists a decision-maker in accessing, collecting
or obtaining personal information, including financial
information, protected health information under the federal
Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 SFC/SB 535
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or educational records under the federal Family Educational
Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, the supporter shall ensure
that the information is kept privileged and confidential, as
applicable, and is not subject to unauthorized access, use
or disclosure.
SECTION 17. DECISION-MAKER ACCESS TO PERSONAL
INFORMATION.--The existence of a supported decision-making
agreement does not preclude a decision-maker from seeking
personal information without the assistance of the supporter.
SECTION 18. THIRD PARTY RELIANCE ON SUPPORTED
DECISION-MAKING AGREEMENT.--A person who receives an original
or a copy of a supported decision-making agreement shall
rely on the agreement, unless the person suspects abuse,
neglect or exploitation and makes a report pursuant to
Section 21 of this 2025 act.
SECTION 19. RECOGNITION OF DECISIONS MADE WITH
ASSISTANCE OF SUPPORTER.--A decision or request made or
communicated with the assistance of a supporter in conformity
with the Supported Decision-Making Act shall be recognized
for the purposes of any provision of law as the decision or
request of the decision-maker.
SECTION 20. TERM OF SUPPORTED DECISION-MAKING
AGREEMENT--TERMINATION OR REVOCATION OF AGREEMENT.--
A. Except as provided by Subsection B of this
section, the supported decision-making agreement extends SFC/SB 535
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until terminated by either party or by the terms of the
agreement.
B. The supported decision-making agreement is
terminated as to a particular supporter if:
(1) the adult protective services division
of the aging and long-term services department finds that
the decision-maker has been abused, neglected or exploited
by the supporter;
(2) the supporter is the subject of a
civil or criminal order prohibiting contact with the
decision-maker;
(3) the supporter has been placed on the
state's employee abuse registry;
(4) the supporter has been convicted of a
crime involving violence or dishonesty;
(5) the supporter is incarcerated;
(6) the decision-maker gives notice to the
supporter orally, in writing, through an assistive technology
device or by any other means or act showing a specific intent
to terminate the agreement; or
(7) the supporter provides written notice
of the supporter's resignation to the decision-maker.
SECTION 21. REPORTING OF SUSPECTED ABUSE, NEGLECT OR
EXPLOITATION.--If a person who receives a copy of a supported
decision-making agreement or is aware of the existence of a SFC/SB 535
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supported decision-making agreement has cause to believe that
the decision-maker is being abused, neglected or exploited
by the supporter, the person shall report the alleged abuse,
neglect or exploitation to the aging and long-term services
department's adult protective services division's statewide
intake hotline.
SECTION 22. SUPPORTED DECISION-MAKING PROGRAM--
CREATED--PROGRAM DUTIES.--
A. The "supported decision-making program" is
created within the office of guardianship in the
developmental disabilities council.
B. The supported decision-making program may:
(1) provide information to adults interested
in entering into supported decision-making agreements;
(2) facilitate adults in forming, executing
and terminating supported decision-making agreements;
(3) monitor supported decision-making
agreements to determine if the agreement meets statutory
requirements;
(4) provide resources and assistance for
a decision-maker who believes a supporter is acting outside
the scope of the supported decision-making agreement; and
(5) provide resources to any individual who
is seeking information on reporting suspected abuse, neglect
or exploitation of the decision-maker. SFC/SB 535
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SECTION 23. EFFECTIVE DATE.--The effective date of the
provisions of this act is July 1, 2025.