BILL ANALYSIS
AB 541
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Date of Hearing: April 13, 2005
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Judy Chu, Chair
AB 541 (Harman) - As Amended: March 30, 2005
Policy Committee: Human Services
Vote: 8-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill (1) authorizes a court to require a prospective legal
guardian of a child to be subject to the same drug testing
provisions applicable to parents seeking custody or visitation
of a child under current law and (2) exempts these types of
guardians from Department of Justice (DOJ) registration
requirements.
FISCAL EFFECT
Minor absorbable workload to the Judicial Council to monitor the
drug testing provisions of this bill and negligible savings for
ending registration requirements for child guardians.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . This bill, sponsored by the California Judges
Association, authorizes courts to order drug testing in
certain cases where a prospective guardian is seeking custody
of a child. This authorization will create uniformity between
guardians and parents seeking child custody. According to a
national study, children whose parents abuse drugs or alcohol
are between three and four times more likely to be abused or
neglected. These risks are likely to be transferred to a child
under the guardianship of a non-parental substance abuser.
A second provision of the bill exempts guardians of children
from registering with the Statewide Registry maintained by the
DOJ for conservators and guardians. Current law requires most
guardians, conservators, and trustees to register with DOJ to
increase oversight of professionals with fiduciary
responsibilities. This requirement is designed to reduce
financial abuse of elder and dependent adults. According to
AB 541
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the sponsors, this requirement is unnecessary for guardians of
children, as most children do not have income and assets to be
managed.
2)Related Legislation . AB 1108 (Bermudez), Chapter 19, Statutes
of 2004, authorized a court to subject certain parents seeking
child custody or visitation to drug testing when there is a
preponderance of evidence of substance abuse. This bill
requires Judicial Council to submit a report to the
Legislature by July 1, 2005.
AB 925 (Hertzberg), Chapter 409, Statutes of 1999, required all
private and professional conservators and guardians to
register with the DOJ Statewide Registry. AB 3036 (Corbett),
Chapter 1115, Statutes of 2002, exempted foster parents from
registering in the Statewide Registry.
Analysis Prepared by : Mary Ader / APPR. / (916) 319-2081