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.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4545 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 4545
To protect the rights of legally incompetent adults who are the subject
of a legal guardianship or conservatorship.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
July 20, 2021
Mr. Crist (for himself and Ms. Mace) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
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.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on the Judiciary.
Referred to the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties.
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