BILL ANALYSIS


                                                        H.B. 1195
                                         By: Naishtat (Henderson)
                                                    Jurisprudence
                                                          5-25-95
                              Senate Committee Report (Unamended)
BACKGROUND

Guardianships are created to protect the best interests of an
incapacitated person.  The 73rd Legislature amended the
guardianship laws to establish a presumption that appointing
persons having certain types of criminal convictions would not be
in the best interest of a ward, thereby disallowing persons with
these convictions from serving as guardians.  The provision
essentially created a presumption that a person convicted of any
sexual offense, sexual assault, aggravated assault, injury to a
child, abandoning or endangering a child, or incest, would not
operate in the best interest of a ward.  However, the presumption
did not apply to persons convicted of assaulting elderly or
disabled persons.

PURPOSE

As proposed, H.B. 1195 to expand the presumption concerning the
best interest of a ward to preclude the appointment of a person who
has been convicted of injury to an elderly or disabled individual
as guardian.  

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not grant any
additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or
agency.

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1. Amends Section 678, Probate Code, to provide that it is
presumed not to be in the best interests of a ward to appoint a
person as guardian of the ward if the person has been finally
convicted of injury to an elderly individual or to a disabled
individual.

SECTION 2. Emergency clause.
           Effective date: upon passage.