Conference committee members on Senate Bill 2291 met in the Peace Garden Room and adopted a conference committee amendment that rearranges language about guardian liability so that paragraph 12 addresses liability for a ward’s acts and paragraph 14 covers liability for individuals hired by a guardian.

The change affects only page 23 of the bill and removes a reference to “wrongful conduct of the ward” from paragraph 14, with committee members saying the intent is to clarify which paragraph covers which type of liability. The committee voted to adopt the conference committee amendment in place of the House amendment and discussed procedural next steps, including revotes in each chamber and which lawmakers will carry the measure back to their respective bodies.

Chairman Paulson said, “what you have in front of you is, a couple of pieces of paper and it's only page 23,” and asked members to compare the House amendment language to the proposed Senate amendment. Representative Holly asked for clarification, saying, “So we're basically just moving words around in the Senate amendment compared to the House 1. And it still covers everything in the House version?” Chairman Paulson responded, “Correct. My that's my understanding is that the liability for the guardian, which was the concern, the liability for the acts of the ward would be covered in paragraph 12 and the liability for the acts of the individual that's hired by the guardian to treat the ward or provide services is covered in section 14.”

Representative Holly moved to select the conference committee amendment “in place of the House amendment” (box number 3 on the conference committee roll-call form); Representative Dobrevitch seconded the motion. During the roll call on the motion, Senator Castaneda voted “Aye,” Senator Braunberger voted “Aye,” and Representative Holly recorded “Yes.” The committee chair then adjourned the conference committee on Senate Bill 2291 after members discussed next procedural steps.

Committee members discussed how the committee action will be finalized. Chairman Paulson said he would report the committee's action to the appropriate chair’s office (Mr. McLeod). Senator Castaneda noted the action differs from what previously passed each chamber and therefore the amendment and bill will need to be revoted by both the House and the Senate; the committee discussed assigning carriers. Representative Dobrevitch was identified to carry the measure on the House side, and Paulson indicated he would carry it in the Senate. The committee did not set a precise order for those revotes or a firm schedule; members said they would report and follow the calendar procedures required to finalize the change.

No additional amendments were adopted during the meeting. The committee’s discussion stayed focused on the single-page change (page 23) and the procedural steps to implement the conference committee amendment.

The conference committee adjourned after confirming carriers and reporting responsibilities; members said the measure will be returned to each chamber for a further vote to complete the conference process.