January 29, 2020 - Introduced by Senators Jacque, Bernier, Bewley, Carpenter,
Johnson, Olsen, Schachtner, L. Taylor, Testin, Wanggaard, Wirch and
Tiffany, cosponsored by Representatives Zimmerman, Rohrkaste, Anderson,
Bowen, Dittrich, Edming, Fields, Knodl, Murphy, B. Meyers, Neubauer,
Novak, Ohnstad, Pope, Rodriguez, Schraa, Shankland, Sinicki, Spiros,
Spreitzer, C. Taylor, Vruwink, Doyle, Goyke, James, Stubbs, Kulp and
Subeck. Referred to Committee on Universities, Technical Colleges, Children
and Families.

SB734,1,6 1An Act to renumber 46.977 (2) (a) and 54.15 (8) (a) 1. to 4.; to renumber and
2amend 46.977 (1) (b); to consolidate, renumber and amend 46.977 (1)
3(intro.) and (a); to amend 46.977 (2) (b) (intro.), 46.977 (2) (c), 54.15 (8) (a)
4(intro.) and 54.15 (8) (b); and to create 46.977 (3), 54.15 (8) (a) 2m. and 54.26
5of the statutes; relating to: guardian training requirements and making an
6appropriation.

This bill establishes mandatory initial training requirements for guardians.
Under the bill, every guardian of the person must complete training on all of the
following topics: 1) the duties and required responsibilities of a guardian under the
law and limits of a guardian's decision-making authority; 2) alternatives to
guardianship, including supported decision-making and powers of attorney; 3)
rights retained by a ward; 4) best practices for a guardian to solicit and understand
the wishes and preferences of a ward, involving a ward in decision-making, and
taking a ward's wishes and preferences into account in decisions made by the
guardian; 5) restoration of a ward's rights and the process for removal of
guardianship; 6) future planning and identification of a potential standby or
successor guardian; and 7) resources and technical support for guardians. The bill
also requires that every guardian of the estate must complete training on the duties
and required responsibilities of a guardian under the law and limits of a guardian's

decision-making authority and inventory and accounting requirements. The bill
provides limited exemptions for certain corporate and volunteer guardians.

Under the bill, a proposed guardian of the person or the estate must submit, as
part of the guardianship case, a sworn and notarized statement to the court that the
person has completed the training requirements.

The bill requires the Department of Health Services to award a grant to
administer and conduct the required guardian training. DHS must require, in the
request for proposal, that the grantee have expertise in state guardianship law,
experience with technical assistance and support to guardians and wards, and
knowledge of common challenges and questions encountered by guardians and
wards. In addition, the grantee selected to develop training shall develop plain
language, web-based online training modules using adult-learning design
principles that can be accessed for free by training topic and in formats that
maximize accessibility, with printed versions available for free upon request.