Sen. Jesse Keel, sponsor and senator for Senate District B, on Friday told the Alaska Senate Judiciary Committee that Senate Bill 190 would modernize state guardianship and conservatorship law by adopting a version of the Uniform Guardianship, Conservatorship and Other Protective Arrangements Act. The committee heard invited testimony and set the bill aside for further review.

The bill matters because Alaska’s current guardianship framework was adopted decades ago and, advocates told the committee, can produce overly broad court orders that limit individual autonomy. SB 190 would add intermediate options between full guardianship and no appointment, tighten notice and reporting requirements, and impose new limits on emergency appointments to favor the least-restrictive intervention adequate to protect an individual.

Keel introduced the measure as the first hearing on the bill before the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Guardianships and conservatorships are powerful tools to protect individual Alaskans who, for a variety of reasons, may not have the ability to fully manage their own financial or other affairs,” Keel said. He told the committee the proposed law is based on a model from the Uniform Law Commission, which he referred to as the “Uniform Act.”

Theresa Holt, state director for AARP Alaska, testified in support and described the bill as the culmination of long-running work by a statewide stakeholder group. “This bill is the last step of the process,” Holt said, adding that interdisciplinary stakeholders — under a national initiative called WINGS (Working Interdisciplinary Network of Guardianship Stakeholders) — have worked since 2017 to update forms, trainings and court practices in Alaska. “Full guardianships and conservatorships should be the last resort, not a default option,” she said.

Committee discussion focused on scope and process. Keel said the Uniform Act provides more “granular options” so courts can match the level of oversight to the person’s actual decision-making capacity rather than defaulting to broad, restrictive orders. Aurora Hawk, staff to the sponsor, told the committee that 19 states had adopted the updated model act as of her last check.

Keel and Holt emphasized several specific features of SB 190 discussed in testimony: greater transparency and notice to affected persons, clearer statutory roles for participants in protective proceedings, strengthened annual reporting requirements for guardians and conservators, and time limits and new constraints on emergency guardianship appointments. Keel noted the bill would not change child in need of aid statutes beyond some updated terminology and would not alter professional licensing statutes other than limited terminology updates.

The committee did not vote on SB 190; the chair said the bill would be held for further review. No formal amendments or votes were recorded during this hearing.

Supporters framed the measure as modernizing Alaska law to reflect contemporary medical advances and evolving understandings of decision-making capacity. Witnesses asked the committee to consider how the draft differs from the model language, and Keel said he expected to return with comparisons showing how Alaska’s version departs from the model.

The committee will review the bill in future session work; the chair set it aside pending further review and comment.