Enrolled Bill Summary

Senate Bill 667	Senate Author:  Zaffirini
Effective:  Vetoed	House Sponsor:  Thompson, Senfronia

            Senate Bill 667 amends the Civil Practice and Remedies Code, Estates Code, Government Code, Health and Safety Code, Human Resources Code, and Local Government Code to revise and update certain provisions governing probate and guardianship matters and procedures for persons who are incapacitated or have a mental illness. Among other provisions, the bill authorizes the commissioners court of a county to create an office of public guardian to provide certain guardianship services to incapacitated persons or enter into an agreement with a person operating a nonprofit guardianship program or private professional guardianship program to act as a public guardian for such purposes.

 

Governor's Reason for Veto: "Senate Bill 667 would make a number of improvements to the law governing probate and guardianship matters, but they unfortunately cannot take effect this session because of a section of the bill that would create new public guardianship offices controlled by counties. It has not been shown that it is necessary to add permanent county offices dedicated to this function. Private attorneys are capable of handling these cases without the expense of this new bureaucracy."