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SB 2029

AN ACT to create and enact a new subsection to section 30.1-28-07 and chapter 54-68 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to an office of guardianship and conservatorship and the removal of a guardian; to amend and reenact section 30.1-29-15 and subsection 1 of section 50-24.1-07 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the removal of a conservator and the recovery of medical assistance expenses; to repeal chapter 27-27 and section 54-68-02.1 of the North Dakota Century Code, relating to the task force on guardianship monitoring and transition requirements; to provide a penalty; to provide for a report; to provide an appropriation; to provide a continuing appropriation; to provide for a transfer; and to provide an effective date.

69th Legislative Assembly (2025-26)

Creates a centralized Office of Guardianship and Conservatorship under the ND Supreme Court to license, oversee, report on, and fund guardianship/conservatorship practices statewid

Filed with Secretary Of State 05/02
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Bill Summary · SB 2029

Summary — SB 2029 (North Dakota)

Status: Introduced March 7, 2025; Filed with Secretary of State 05/02/2025 (per bill metadata)

Purpose / intent

SB 2029 creates a centralized Office of Guardianship and Conservatorship under the North Dakota Supreme Court to supervise guardianship and conservatorship practice statewide, strengthen oversight, establish licensing and reporting standards, create a registry for removed guardians/conservators, and permit recovery of certain public benefits paid for decedents’ institutional care. The bill also repeals an earlier task force statute and provides for funding, audits, and reporting.

Key provisions

  • Establishes a new statutory framework (chapter 27-27.1 and chapter 54-68 in various drafts) creating an Office of Guardianship and Conservatorship as a division under the Supreme Court.
  • Office duties and powers:
    • Develop policies, procedures and eligibility criteria for public guardians/conservators, licensed and unlicensed providers, and public services.
    • Develop ethical standards and training for guardians and conservators.
    • Monitor guardianship and conservatorship services and provide annual/biannual reports to the Supreme Court and legislative management.
    • Recommend administrative rules; grant, suspend, or revoke licenses and issue temporary “agency permits” for entity employees.
    • Require insurance or bonding as a condition of licensure.
    • Establish mandatory disclosure and reporting requirements; accept grants, donations, and other funds.
    • Establish and collect fees to support operations; create a Guardianship and Conservatorship Support Fund (continuing appropriation) to the judicial branch.
    • Be subject to State Auditor audits.
    • Office staff and officers are prohibited from acting as a public guardian/conservator on behalf of individuals (except in personal capacity separate from office duties).
  • Registry for removed guardians and conservators:
    • Courts may order a guardian or conservator removed for good cause to be listed on a registry maintained by the State Court Administrator.
    • Individuals listed on the registry are disqualified from serving as guardian/conservator in future proceedings.
    • The registry does not apply to licensed guardians/conservators (licensed includes those with suspended—but not revoked—licenses).
  • Estate recovery change:
    • Amends the Medicaid estate-priority statute (section 50-24.1-07) to add claims under the new guardianship/conservatorship chapter to the list of preferred claims against a decedent’s estate (supporting recovery of certain medical assistance expenses).
  • Repeals the previous chapter establishing a task force on guardianship monitoring (chapter 27-27) and a related transitional provision (54-68-02.1 in some drafts).
  • Confidentiality and penalty:
    • Identifiable information about applicants/recipients of public services is made confidential with limited disclosure rules; unauthorized disclosure is subject to penalty (bill text references a penalty but specific sanction language is truncated in the excerpt).
  • Appropriation/finance:
    • Creates the support fund and authorizes continuing appropriation of its moneys to the judicial branch; authorizes collection of fees and acceptance of grants/donations. The bill text references an appropriation, continuing appropriation, and transfers but the provided excerpts do not list dollar amounts.

Who is affected

  • Guardians and conservators (both licensed and unlicensed), and professional guardianship/conservatorship entities.
  • Individuals under guardianship or conservatorship and their families.
  • Courts, the State Court Administrator, the Judicial Branch, and the Department of Human Services (estate recovery).
  • Public guardians/conservators and public administrators who may receive state funding.
  • Attorneys, bonding/insurance providers, and organizations that train or oversee guardians/conservators.

Procedural / timeline notes

  • Introduced by the Legislative Management (Government Finance Committee) and assigned statutory chapters for creation/amendment.
  • The bill directs the State Court Administrator to maintain the registry and requires biennial reports to legislative management and annual reports to the Supreme Court.
  • The bill text references an effective date provision; the exact effective date and any appropriation amounts are not specified in the excerpt provided.

If you want, I can extract and summarize the specific licensing, disclosure, or penalty language from any full draft/version you provide, or prepare a one‑page explainer for affected stakeholders (courts, guardians, families, agencies).

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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