Task force judge and interim staff present proposal to consolidate guardianship programs under new Office of Guardianship and Conservatorship

The Senate Judiciary Committee opened a hearing on Senate Bill 2029, a bill drafted to consolidate public guardianship and conservatorship programs and oversight into a single Office of Guardianship and Conservatorship (OGC) under the North Dakota Supreme Court.

Adam Matyuk, fiscal analyst with the Legislative Council and interim government finance committee staff, provided an overview that the bill would consolidate multiple guardian‑related line items and programs currently administered across the Department of Health and Human Services, the Office of Management and Budget (pass grants), the judicial branch monitoring program and other entities. Matyuk said the bill as filed appropriates funds to the new office but does not itself eliminate the existing appropriations — those adjustments would be made through the appropriations process.

Judge Cynthia Phelan, chair of the task force on guardianship monitoring, testified at length about the task force’s four‑phase approach and about the proposed structure: the OGC would administer public guardianship services and a new guardianship and conservatorship review board would adjudicate alleged misconduct; an independent investigation counsel would receive and investigate complaints; licensure would be required for professional guardianship entities that serve multiple wards; and a disqualification roster would prevent persons removed for cause from serving in other cases. Phelan said licensure would allow statewide revocation of a professional guardian’s authority where mismanagement is proved and would protect vulnerable people from repeat misconduct.

The bill would create a continuing Guardianship and Conservatorship Support Fund to hold legislative transfers and program collections and would allow the OGC to exercise a preferred claim for recovery of public funds from estates when appropriate. Phelan said proposed confidentiality, disclosure and subpoena rules would mirror existing Department of Health and Human Services statutes and that the attorney general and the Bureau of Criminal Investigation would be the primary authorities for criminal inquiries while the investigation counsel would handle disciplinary investigations.

Witnesses and committee members discussed operational details: rising demand for establishment funds, caps on petitioning costs (current cap discussed is $3,000 per case, with proposed increases for the next biennium), exhaustion of some funds during the current biennium, and the need for specialized investigators at BCI. Judge Phelan provided proposed technical amendments, including allocating limited one‑time funding for BCI investigators and delaying civil penalties until licensure standards are in place.

Ending: The hearing produced detailed technical discussion and proposed amendments; the committee recessed and scheduled continuation for the afternoon so additional witnesses could testify and the task force could present drafted amendments and cost details. No final committee vote on the bill was recorded in the provided transcript.