AN ACT Relating to conservatorship; adding new sections to chapter 43.20A RCW; and creating a new section.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. For the purposes of this chapter:

(1) "Gravely disabled" means a condition in which a person, as a result of chronic alcoholism or a mental disorder or both: (a) Is in danger of serious physical harm resulting from a failure to provide for his essential human needs of health or safety, or (b) manifests severe deterioration in routine functioning evidenced by repeated and escalating loss of cognitive or volitional control over his or her actions and is not receiving such care as is essential for his or her health or safety;

(2) "Mental disorder" means any organic, mental, or emotional impairment which has substantial adverse effects on an individual's cognitive or volitional functions;

(3) "Likelihood of serious harm" means either: (a) A substantial risk that physical harm will be inflicted by an individual upon his or her own person, as evidenced by threats or attempts to commit suicide or inflict physical harm on one's self, (b) a substantial risk that physical harm will be inflicted by an individual upon another, as evidenced by behavior which has caused such harm or which places another person or persons in reasonable fear of sustaining such harm, or (c) a substantial risk that physical harm will be inflicted by an individual upon the property of others, as evidenced by behavior which has caused substantial loss or damage to the property of others.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. APPOINTMENT‑-PROCEDURE. A conservator of the person, estate, or the person and the estate may be appointed for any person who is gravely disabled as a result of mental disorder or impairment by chronic alcoholism.

The authority and procedure for establishing, administering, and terminating conservatorship under this chapter shall be the same as that provided in chapter 11.88 and 11.92 RCW, except as follows:

(1) When a gravely disabled person already has a guardian, the superior court may appoint him or her or another person as conservator under the provisions of this chapter.

(2) The person for whom conservatorship is sought shall have the right to demand a court or jury trial on the issue whether he or she is gravely disabled. Demand for court or jury trial shall be made within five days following the hearing on the conservatorship petition. If the proposed conservatee demands a court or jury trial before the date of the hearing as provided for in section 30 of this act, such demand shall constitute a waiver of the hearing.

Court or jury trial shall commence within ten days of the date of the demand, except that the court shall continue the trial date for a period not to exceed fifteen days upon the request of counsel for the proposed conservatee.

This right shall also apply in subsequent proceedings to reestablish conservatorship.

(3) Conservatorship investigation shall be the responsibility of the department of social and health services, chapter 43.20A RCW.

(4) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. PURPOSE. The purpose of conservatorship, as established by sections 1 through 37 of this act, is to provide individualized treatment, supervision, and placement.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. INVESTIGATING AGENCIES. The department of social and health services, chapter 43.20A RCW, shall designate the agency or agencies to provide conservatorship investigation as set forth in this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. RECOMMENDATION‑-PETITION‑-TEMPORARY CONSERVATOR‑-PROCEDURE. When the mental health professional in charge of an agency providing comprehensive evaluation or a facility providing intensive treatment determines that a person in his or her care is gravely disabled as a result of mental disorder or impairment by chronic alcoholism and is unwilling to accept, or incapable of accepting, treatment voluntarily, he or she may recommend conservatorship to the officer providing conservatorship investigation in the county of residence of the person prior to his or her admission as a patient in such facility.

The professional person in charge of an agency providing comprehensive evaluation or a facility providing intensive treatment may recommend conservatorship for a person without the person being an inpatient in such facility, if both of the following conditions are met: (1) The professional person or another professional person designated by him or her has examined and evaluated the person and determined that he or she is gravely disabled; (2) the professional person or another professional person designated by him or her has determined that future examination on an inpatient basis is not necessary for a determination that the person is gravely disabled.

If the officer providing conservatorship investigation concurs with the recommendation, the officer shall petition the superior court in the county of residence of the patient to establish conservatorship.

Where temporary conservatorship is indicated, the fact shall be alternatively pleaded in the petition. The officer providing conservatorship investigation or other officer or employee designated by the department of social and health services, shall act as temporary conservator.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. TEMPORARY CONSERVATORSHIP. The court may establish a temporary conservatorship for a period not to exceed thirty days and appoint a temporary conservator on the basis of the comprehensive report of the officer providing conservatorship investigation filed pursuant to section 13 of this act, or on the basis of an affidavit of the professional person who recommended conservatorship stating the reasons for his or her recommendation, if the court is satisfied that such comprehensive report or affidavit shows the necessity for a temporary conservatorship.

Except as provided in this section, all temporary conservatorships shall expire automatically at the conclusion of thirty days, unless prior to that date the court shall conduct a hearing on the issue of whether or not the proposed conservatee is gravely disabled.

If the proposed conservatee demands a court or jury trial on the issue whether he or she is gravely disabled, the court may extend the temporary conservatorship until the date of the disposition of the issue by the court or jury trial, provided that such extension shall in no event exceed a period of six months.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. COURT-APPOINTED GUARDIAN‑-BOND AND OATH. Where the duly designated officer providing conservatorship investigation is a court-appointed guardian, his or her official oath and bond as court-appointed guardian under RCW 11.88.100 are in lieu of any other bond or oath on the grant of temporary letters of conservatorship to him or her.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. ADDITIONAL DETENTION PENDING FILING PETITION. If the professional person in charge of a facility providing intensive treatment recommends conservatorship pursuant to section 5 of this act, the proposed conservatee may be held in that facility for a period not to exceed three days beyond the fourteen-day period for intensive treatment if such additional time period is necessary for a filing of the petition for temporary conservatorship and the establishment of such temporary conservatorship by the court.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. APPEAL OF JUDGMENT ESTABLISHING CONSERVATORSHIP‑-CONTINUATION OF CONSERVATORSHIP‑-EXCEPTION. If a conservatee appeals the court's decision to establish conservatorship, the conservatorship shall continue unless execution of judgment is stayed by the appellate court.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. INITIATION OF PROCEEDINGS‑-REIMBURSEMENT. Conservatorship proceedings may be initiated for any person committed to a state hospital or local mental health facility or placed on outpatient treatment upon recommendation of the medical director of the state hospital, or the director's designee, or the professional person in charge of the local mental health facility, or his or her designee, or the local mental health director, or the director's designee. Recommendation shall be made to the conservatorship investigator in the county of residence of the person prior to his or her admission to the hospital or facility or of the county in which the hospital or facility is located. The initiation of conservatorship proceedings or the existence of a conservatorship shall not affect any pending criminal proceedings.

Subject to the provisions of the criminal law, conservatorship proceedings may be initiated for any person convicted of a felony who has been transferred to a state hospital under the jurisdiction of the department of social and health services, by the recommendation of the superintendent of the state hospital to the conservatorship investigator in the county of residence of the person or of the county in which the state hospital is located.

Subject to the provisions of Title 13 RCW, conservatorship proceedings may be initiated for any person committed to a juvenile detention facility, or on parole from a juvenile facility of the department of social and health services, by the secretary of the department of social and health services or the secretary's designee, to a conservatorship investigator of the county of residence of such person or of the county in which such facility is situated.

Any county mental health program providing conservatorship investigation services and conservatorship case management services for any such persons shall be reimbursed for the expenditures made by it for such services at one hundred percent of such expenditures.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. INDIVIDUALIZED TREATMENT PLAN‑-DEVELOPMENT‑-GOALS‑-PROGRESS REVIEW‑-TERMINATION OF CONSERVATORSHIP BY COURT. Within ten days after conservatorship of the person has been established under the provisions of sections 1 through 37 of this act, there shall be an individualized treatment plan unless treatment is specifically found not to be appropriate by the court. The treatment plan shall be developed by a community mental health service, the staff of a facility operating under a contract to provide such services in the individual's county of residence, or the staff of a health facility of the department of social and health services. The individualized treatment plan shall specify goals for the individual's treatment, the criteria by which accomplishment of the goals can be judged, and a plan for review of the progress of treatment. The goals of the treatment plan shall be equivalent to reducing or eliminating the behavioral manifestations of grave disability. If a treatment plan is not developed as provided in this section then the matter shall be referred to the court by a community mental health service, or the staff of a facility operating under a contract to provide such services, the department of social and health services, the conservator, or the attorney of record for the conservatee.

When the progress review determines that the goals have been reached and the person is no longer gravely disabled, a person designated by the court shall so report to the court and the conservatorship shall be terminated by the court.

If the conservator fails to report to the court that the person is no longer gravely disabled, then the matter shall be referred to the court by the community mental health service, the staff of a facility operating under a contract to provide such services, the department of social and health services, or the attorney of record for the conservatee.

The department shall adopt rules defining the elements of the treatment plan and the requirements and responsibilities for progress review. The rules shall differentiate between placement, supervision, and treatment.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. TEMPORARY CONSERVATOR‑-ARRANGEMENTS PENDING DETERMINATION OF CONSERVATORSHIP‑-POWERS‑-RESIDENCE OF CONSERVATEE‑-SALE OR RELINQUISHMENT OF PROPERTY. A temporary conservator under this chapter shall determine what arrangements are necessary to provide the person with food, shelter, and care pending the determination of conservatorship. The conservator shall give preference to arrangements which allow the person to return to his or her home, family, or friends. If necessary, the temporary conservator may require the person to be detained in a facility providing intensive treatment pending the determination of conservatorship. Any person so detained shall have the same right to judicial review as provided by Title 71 RCW.

The powers of the temporary conservator shall be those granted in the decree, but in no event may they be broader than the powers which may be granted a conservator.

The court shall order the temporary conservator to take all reasonable steps to preserve the status quo concerning the conservatee's previous place of residence. The temporary conservator shall not sell or relinquish on the conservatee's behalf any estate or interest in any real or personal property, including any lease or estate in real or personal property used as or within the conservatee's place of residence, without specific approval of the court. Approval may be granted only upon a finding based on a preponderance of the evidence that such action is necessary to avert irreparable harm to the conservatee. A finding of irreparable harm as to real property may be based upon a reasonable showing that such real property is vacant, that it cannot reasonably be rented, and that it is impossible or impractical to obtain fire or liability insurance on such property.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. INVESTIGATION OF ALTERNATIVES TO CONSERVATORSHIP‑-RECOMMENDATIONS OF CONSERVATORSHIP‑-REPORT OF INVESTIGATION, NECESSITY, CONTENTS, TRANSMITTAL, USE. The officer providing conservatorship investigation shall investigate all available alternatives to conservatorship and shall recommend conservatorship to the court only if no suitable alternatives are available. This officer shall render to the court a written report of investigation prior to the hearing. The report to the court shall be comprehensive and shall contain all relevant aspects of the person's medical, psychological, financial, family, vocational, and social condition, and information obtained from the person's family members, close friends, social worker, or principal therapist. The report shall also contain all available information concerning the person's real and personal property. The facilities providing intensive treatment or comprehensive evaluation shall disclose any records or information which may facilitate the investigation. If the officer providing conservatorship investigation recommends against conservatorship, he or she shall set forth all alternatives available. A copy of the report shall be transmitted to the individual who originally recommended conservatorship, to the person or agency, if any, recommended to serve as conservator, the department of social and health services, and to the person recommended for conservatorship. The court may receive the report in evidence and may read and consider the contents thereof in rendering its judgment.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. ACCEPTANCE OR REJECTION OF POSITION AS CONSERVATOR‑-RECOMMENDATION OF SUBSTITUTE. The person recommended to serve as conservator shall promptly notify the officer providing conservatorship investigation whether he or she will accept the position if appointed. If notified that the person or agency recommended will not accept the position if appointed, the officer providing conservatorship investigation shall promptly recommend another person to serve as conservator.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. DESIGNATION OF CONSERVATOR‑-CONFLICTS OF INTEREST‑-COURT-APPOINTED GUARDIAN. If the conservatorship investigation results in a recommendation for conservatorship, the recommendation shall name the most suitable person, corporation, state or local agency or county officer, or employee designated to serve as conservator. No person, corporation, or agency shall be designated as conservator whose interests, activities, obligations, or responsibilities are such as to compromise the ability to represent and safeguard the interests of the conservatee. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the department of social and health services from serving as guardian, or the function of the conservatorship investigator and conservator being exercised by the same public officer or employee.

When a court-appointed guardian is appointed conservator, the court-appointed guardian's official bond and oath as court-appointed guardian are in lieu of the conservator's bond and oath on the grant of letters of conservatorship. No bond shall be required of any other public officer or employee appointed to serve as conservator.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. INVESTIGATION REPORT‑-RECOMMENDATIONS‑-AGREEMENT TO SERVE AS CONSERVATOR. The report of the officer providing conservatorship investigation shall contain his or her recommendations concerning the powers to be granted to, and the duties to be imposed upon the conservator, the legal disabilities to be imposed upon the conservatee, the proper placement for the conservatee pursuant to section 18 of this act. The report to the court shall also contain an agreement signed by the person or agency recommended to serve as conservator certifying that the person or agency is able and willing to serve as conservator.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. CONSERVATOR‑-GENERAL AND SPECIAL POWERS‑-DISABILITY OF CONSERVATEE. All conservators of the estate shall have the general powers specified in Title 11 RCW, probate and trust law, and shall have such additional powers as the court may designate. The report shall set forth which, if any, of the additional powers it recommends. The report shall also recommend for or against the imposition of each of the following disabilities on the proposed conservatee:

(1) The privilege of possessing a license to operate a motor vehicle. If the report recommends against this right and if the court follows the recommendation, the agency providing conservatorship investigation shall, upon the appointment of the conservator, so notify the department of licensing.

(2) The right to enter into contracts. The officer may recommend against the person having the right to enter specified types of transactions or transactions in excess of specified money amounts.

(3) The disqualification of the person from voting pursuant to Article VI of the state Constitution.

(4) The right to refuse or consent to treatment related specifically to the conservatee's being gravely disabled.

(5) The right to refuse or consent to other medical treatment unrelated to remedying or preventing the recurrence of the conservatee's being gravely disabled which is necessary for the treatment of an existing or continuing medical condition. The report shall include an evaluation of such condition and the current treatment for such condition, if any.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 18. PLACEMENT OF CONSERVATEE‑-TREATMENT. (1) When ordered by the court after the hearing required by this section, a conservator appointed pursuant to this chapter shall place his or her conservatee in the least-restrictive alternative placement, as designated by the court. Such placement may include a medical, psychiatric, nursing, or other state-licensed facility, or a state hospital, county hospital, hospital operated by the University of Washington, a United States government hospital, or other nonmedical facility approved by the department of social and health services, or in addition to any of the foregoing, in cases of chronic alcoholism, to an alcoholic treatment center.

(2) A conservator shall also have the right, if specified in the court order, to require his or her conservatee to receive treatment related specifically to remedying or preventing the recurrence of the conservatee's being gravely disabled, or to require his or her conservatee to receive other medical treatment unrelated to remedying or preventing the recurrence of the conservatee's being gravely disabled which is necessary for the treatment of an existing or continuing medical condition. Except in emergency cases in which the conservatee faces loss of life or serious bodily injury, no surgery shall be performed upon the conservatee without the conservatee's prior consent or a court order specifically authorizing such surgery.

(3) If the conservatee is not to be placed in his or her own home or the home of a relative, first priority shall be to placement in a suitable facility as close as possible to his or her home or the home of a relative. For the purposes of this section, suitable facility means the least-restrictive residential placement available and necessary to achieve the purposes of this subsection. At the time that the court considers the report of the officer providing conservatorship investigation specified in section 16 of this act, the court shall consider available placement alternatives. After considering all the evidence the court shall determine the least-restrictive and most appropriate alternative placement for the conservatee. The court shall also determine those persons to be notified of a change of placement.

If requested, the local mental health director shall assist the conservator or the court in selecting a placement facility for the conservatee. When a conservatee who is receiving services from the local mental health program is placed, the conservator shall inform the local mental health director of the facility's location and any movement of the conservatee to another facility.

(4) The conservator may transfer his or her conservatee to a less-restrictive alternative placement without a further hearing and court approval. In any case in which a conservator has reasonable cause to believe that his or her conservatee is in need of immediate, more restrictive placement because the condition of the conservatee has so changed that the conservatee poses an immediate and substantial danger to himself or herself or others, the conservator shall have the right to place his or her conservatee in a more restrictive facility or hospital. If the change is to a placement more restrictive than the court-determined placement, the conservator shall provide written notice of the change of placement and the reason therefor to the court, the conservatee's attorney, the county patient's rights advocate, and such other persons designated by the court.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 19. NONLIABILITY OF CONSERVATOR, COURT-APPOINTED GUARDIAN, OR PEACE OFFICER FOR ACTION BY CONSERVATEE. Neither a conservator, temporary conservator, or guardian appointed pursuant to this chapter, nor a peace officer acting pursuant to this chapter shall be held civilly or criminally liable for any action by a conservatee.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 20. MEDICAL TREATMENT OF CONSERVATEE‑-COURT ORDER‑-EMERGENCIES. If a conservatee requires medical treatment which has not been specifically authorized by the court, the conservator shall, after notice to the conservatee, obtain a court order for such medical treatment, except in emergency cases in which the conservatee faces loss of life or serious bodily injury. The conservatee, if he or she chooses to contest the request for a court order, may petition the court for a hearing which shall be held prior to granting the order.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 21. PETITION TO CONTEST RIGHTS DENIED CONSERVATEE OR POWERS GRANTED CONSERVATOR‑-SUBSEQUENT PETITIONS‑-VOTING RIGHTS. At any time, a conservatee or any person on his or her behalf with the consent of the conservatee or the conservatee's counsel, may petition the court for a hearing to contest the rights denied under section 17 of this act or the powers granted to the conservator under section 18 of this act. However, after the filing of the first petition for hearing pursuant to this section, no further petition for rehearing shall be submitted for a period of six months.

A request for hearing pursuant to this section shall not affect the right of a conservatee to petition the court for a rehearing as to his or her status as a conservatee pursuant to section 29 of this act. A hearing pursuant to this section shall not include trial by jury. If a person's right to vote is restored, the court shall so notify the county clerk of the conservatee's county of residence.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 22. CONSERVATEE LEAVING FACILITY WITHOUT APPROVAL‑-RETURN TO FACILITY OR REMOVAL TO DESIGNATED TREATMENT FACILITY‑-REQUEST TO PEACE OFFICER. When any conservatee placed into a facility pursuant to this chapter leaves the facility without the approval of the conservator or the person in charge of the facility, or when the conservator appointed pursuant to this chapter deems it necessary to remove the conservatee to the designated treatment facility, the conservator may take the conservatee into custody and return him or her to the facility or remove him or her to the designated treatment facility. A conservator, at his or her discretion, may request a peace officer to detain the conservatee and return such person to the facility in which he or she was placed or to transfer such person to the designated treatment facility. Such request shall be in writing and accompanied by a certified copy of the letters of conservatorship showing the person requesting detention and transfer to be the conservator appointed pursuant to this chapter as conservator of the person sought to be detained. Either the conservator or the conservator's assistant or deputy may request detention under this section. Whenever possible, persons charged with apprehension of persons pursuant to this section shall dress in plain clothes and shall travel in unmarked vehicles.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 23. OUTPATIENT TREATMENT FOR CONSERVATEE‑-AGREEMENT OF PERSON IN CHARGE OF FACILITY‑-PROGRESS REPORT. Any conservator who places his or her conservatee in an inpatient facility pursuant to section 18 of this act, may also require the conservatee to undergo outpatient treatment. Before doing so, the conservator shall obtain the agreement of the person in charge of a mental health facility that the conservatee will receive outpatient treatment and that the person in charge of the facility will designate a person to be the outpatient supervisor of the conservatee. The person in charge of these facilities shall notify the department of social and health services or its designee of such agreement. At ninety-day intervals following the commencement of the outpatient treatment, the outpatient supervisor shall make a report in writing to the conservator and to the person in charge of the mental health facility setting forth the status and progress of the conservatee.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 24. ALTERNATIVE PLACEMENT. A conservator appointed under this chapter shall find alternative placement for his or her conservatee within seven days after the conservator is notified by the person in charge of the facility serving the conservatee that the conservatee no longer needs the care or treatment offered by that facility.

If unusual conditions or circumstances preclude alternative placement of the conservatee within seven days, the conservator shall find such placement within thirty days.

If alternative placement cannot be found at the end of the thirty-day period, the conservator shall confer with the professional person in charge of the facility and they shall then determine the earliest practicable date when such alternative placement may be obtained.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 25. RECOMMENDATIONS OF OFFICER PROVIDING CONSERVATORSHIP INVESTIGATION. The officer providing conservatorship investigation shall recommend, in his or her report to the court, for or against imposition of a disability set forth in section 17 of this act, on the basis of the determination of the professional person who recommended conservatorship pursuant to section 5 of this act.

The officer providing conservatorship investigation shall recommend in his or her report any of the additional powers of a guardian set forth in chapter 11.92 RCW, if the needs of the individual patient or the patient's estate require such powers. In making such determination, the officer providing conservatorship investigation shall consult with the professional person who recommended conservatorship pursuant to section 5 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 26. TERMINATION‑-POWER AND AUTHORITY OVER ESTATE‑-REAPPOINTMENT‑-OPINION OF PHYSICIANS OR PSYCHOLOGISTS‑-RELEASE OR DETENTION OF CONSERVATEE. Conservatorship initiated pursuant to this chapter shall automatically terminate one year after the appointment of the conservator by the superior court. The period of service of a temporary conservator shall not be included in the one-year period. Where the conservator has been appointed as conservator of the estate, the conservator shall, for a reasonable time, continue to have such power and authority over the estate as the superior court, on petition by the conservator, may deem necessary for (1) the collection of assets or income which accrued during the period of conservatorship, but were uncollected before the date of termination, (2) the payment of expenses which accrued during the period of conservatorship and of which the conservator was notified prior to termination, but were unpaid before the date of termination, and (3) the completion of sales of real property where the only act remaining at the date of termination is the actual transfer of title.

If upon the termination of an initial or a succeeding period of conservatorship the conservator determines that conservatorship is still required, he or she may petition the superior court for reappointment as conservator for a succeeding one-year period. The petition must include the opinion of two physicians or licensed psychologists who have a doctoral degree in psychology and at least five years of postgraduate experience in the diagnosis and treatment of emotional and mental disorders that the conservatee is still gravely disabled as a result of mental disorder or impairment by chronic alcoholism. In the event that the conservator is unable to obtain the opinion of two physicians or psychologists, he or she shall request that the court appoint them.

Any facility in which a conservatee is placed must release the conservatee at his or her request when the conservatorship terminates. A petition for reappointment filed by the conservator or a petition for appointment filed by a public guardian shall be transmitted to the facility at least thirty days before the automatic termination date. The facility may detain the conservatee after the end of the termination date only if the conservatorship proceedings have not been completed and the court orders the conservatee to be held until the proceedings have been completed.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 27. NOTICE OF IMPENDING TERMINATION‑-PETITION FOR REAPPOINTMENT‑-COURT HEARING OR JURY TRIAL‑-DECREE OF TERMINATION. (1) The clerk of the superior court shall notify each conservator, his or her conservatee, the person in charge of the facility in which the person resides, the department of social and health services, and the conservatee's attorney, of impending termination, at least sixty days before the end of the one-year period. If the conservator is a private party, the clerk of the superior court shall also notify the county mental health director and the officer providing conservatorship investigation pursuant to section 13 of this act, at least sixty days before termination of the one-year period. Notification shall be given in person or by first class mail. The notification shall be in substantially the following form:

In the Superior Court of the State of Washington

for the County of ..........

!tp1 !ixThe people of the State of Washington!trNo.!sc ,1!sc.,5

Concerning!trNotice!sc ,1of!sc ,1Termination

!sc.,20!trof!sc ,1Conservatorship

The people of the State of Washington to !w.

!w.:

(Conservatee, conservatee's attorney, conservator, and professional person in charge of the facility in which the conservatee resides, county mental health director, officer providing conservatorship investigation and the department of social and health services.)

The one-year conservatorship established for .......... pursuant to conservatorship, chapter 43.20A RCW, on .......... will terminate on .......... . If the conservator, .......... , wishes to reestablish conservatorship for another year he or she must petition the court by .......... . Subject to a request for a court hearing by jury trial the judge may, on his or her own motion, accept or reject the conservator's petition.

If the conservator petitions to reestablish conservatorship the conservatee, the professional person in charge of the facility in which he or she resides, the conservatee's attorney, and, if the conservator is a private party, the county mental health director and the officer providing conservatorship investigation shall be notified. If any of them request it, there shall be a court hearing or a jury trial, whichever is requested, on the issue of whether the conservatee is still gravely disabled and in need of conservatorship. If the private conservator does not petition for reappointment, the officer providing conservatorship investigation may recommend another conservator. Such a petition shall be considered a petition for reappointment as conservator.

!tp1 !tr!sc.,38

!tr(Signed,!sc ,1Judge!sc ,1of!sc ,1the!sc ,1Superior!sc ,1Court)

(2) Subject to a request for a court hearing or jury trial, the judge may, on his or her own motion, accept or reject the conservator's petition.

If the conservator does not petition to reestablish conservatorship at or before the termination of the one-year period, the court shall issue a decree terminating conservatorship. The decree shall be sent to the conservator and his or her conservatee by first class mail and shall be accompanied by a statement of Washington law.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 28. RATIFICATION OF ACTS BEYOND TERM. In the event the conservator continues in good faith to act within the powers granted in the original decree of conservatorship beyond the one-year period, he or she may petition for and shall be granted a decree ratifying his or her acts as conservator beyond the one-year period. The decree shall provide for a retroactive appointment of the conservator to provide continuity of authority in those cases where the conservator did not apply in time for reappointment.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 29. PETITION FOR REHEARING ON STATUS AS CONSERVATEE‑-NOTICE OF VOTER REGISTRATION RIGHT. At any time, the conservatee may petition the superior court for a rehearing as to his or her status as a conservatee. However, after the filing of the first petition for rehearing pursuant to this section, no further petition for rehearing shall be submitted for a period of six months. If the conservatorship is terminated pursuant to this section, and it included a judicial determination the conservatee was disqualified from voting due to mental incompetency, the court shall notify the county clerk that the person's right to register to vote is restored.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 30. TIME FOR HEARING PETITIONS‑-ATTORNEY. A hearing shall be held on all petitions under this chapter within thirty days of the date of the petition. The court shall appoint the public defender or other attorney for the conservatee or proposed conservatee within five days after the date of the petition.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 31. WAIVER OF PRESENCE OF PROFESSIONALS AND PHYSICIANS‑-RECEPTION OF DOCUMENTS. The conservatee or proposed conservatee may, upon advice of counsel, waive the presence at any hearing under this chapter of the physician or other professional person who recommended conservatorship pursuant to section 5 of this act and of the physician providing evaluation or intensive treatment. In the event of such a waiver, such physician and professional persons shall not be required to be present at the hearing if it is stipulated that the recommendation and records of such physician or other professional person concerning the mental condition and treatment of the conservatee or proposed conservatee will be received in evidence.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 32. EFFECT OF CONSERVATORSHIP ON PRESUMPTION OF COMPETENCE. A person who is no longer a conservatee shall not be presumed to be incompetent by virtue of his or her having been a conservatee under the provisions of this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 33. CONSERVATEE WITH CRIMINAL CHARGES PENDING‑-RECOVERY OF COMPETENCE. When a conservatee who has criminal charges pending against him or her and has been found mentally incompetent recovers his or her mental competence, the conservator shall certify that fact to the court, sheriff, and prosecuting attorney of the county in which the criminal charges are pending and to the defendant's attorney of record.

The court shall order the sheriff to immediately return the defendant to the court in which the criminal charges are pending. Within two judicial days of the defendant's return, the court shall hold a hearing to determine whether the defendant is entitled to be admitted to bail or released upon his or her own recognizance pending conclusion of criminal proceedings.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 34. MAXIMUM CASELOAD LEVELS FOR CASEWORKERS. The secretary of the department of social and health services shall by rule, establish maximum caseload levels for each caseworker for public agencies responsible for conservatorship investigation and for case management of conservatees.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 35. CONSERVATORSHIP PROCEEDING FOR ONE CHARGED WITH OFFENSE. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a conservatorship proceeding may be initiated pursuant to this chapter for any person who has been charged with an offense.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 36. APPOINTMENT OF COUNSEL FOR PRIVATE CONSERVATOR WITH INSUFFICIENT FUNDS. The court in which a petition to establish a conservatorship is filed may appoint the county attorney or a private attorney to represent a private conservator in all proceedings connected with the conservatorship, if it appears that the conservator has insufficient funds to obtain the services of a private attorney. Such appointments of the county attorney, however, may be made only if the county, by ordinance or resolution, has authorized county counsel to accept them.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 37. CONFLICT OF INTEREST OF EVALUATION OF CONSERVATEE. No person upon whom a duty is placed to evaluate, or who, in fact, does evaluate a conservatee for any purpose under this chapter shall have a financial or other beneficial interest in the facility where the conservatee is to be, or has been placed.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 38. Section captions as used in sections 1 through 37 of this act do not constitute any part of the law.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 39. Sections 1 through 37 of this act are each added to chapter 43.20A RCW.