Committee approves expansion of professionals who may perform guardianship evaluations amid sharp opposition from disability advocates and survivors

The Senate Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to advance a committee substitute for House Bill 36, a measure that adds several licensed professions to the list of practitioners permitted to conduct the independent evaluations probate courts rely on in guardianship and conservatorship petitions.

Sponsor Representative Leverett and judges who testified told the committee that many probate courts have difficulty securing timely independent evaluations — a problem that causes urgent cases to stall. "What is happening in reality is a family member is coming in to file a guardianship and there is no qualified individual willing to serve in that jurisdiction," Judge Wolk told the committee. She described some circuits that had only a handful of evaluators for very large populations and noted narrow emergency deadlines under existing law.

The substitute expands the pool of qualified…