Ah the glories of Public Input. Public Input does make a difference. Don’t let anyone tell you it’s not possible to stop a fast moving locomotive. It took four months to stop this one, but thanks to the South Dakota State Senate Judiciary Committee, it can’t move anymore this year.
This locomotive started with some hope for victims of elder abuse and their families. What it became was a bill appearing to make it easier to defraud them and the unsuspecting. As advocates, we strive to do what is right for those we wish to protect and make it harder for those who might try fraud and deceit. This is why those of us who use Public input fight, not only for today but for the future.
On Tuesday, February 27, 2018 the Senate Judiciary Committee voted to defeat HB 1204, “An Act to revise certain provisions regarding power of attorney“.
For a little background, as we age or have special needs, there are legal forms and processes available to allow others to help us with medical or financial decisions. We often will pick a trusted family member to legally act on our behalf under certain types of circumstances without the need for court proceedings. This is the Power of Attorney (POA) process. I firmly believe everyone must have a POA document signed, sealed and put away for the time it is necessary to use. Your family and especially the person you trust the most has to know these documents. If you currently have them, do they know where they are, Â or how to use them in the case of emergency?
Put into the wrong hands through fraud, deception or self-interest, the POA can be the gateway to stripping you of all your rights and property. Having activated a POA, it can set in motion a process of forcing you into a guardianship where you are left with no rights at all. At this point you are left with nothing to say about your life. All your dreams of a happy or peaceful retirement are gone. In the wrong hands, you can become a legal ward or prisoner wishing you were dead, because death is the only freedom left.
This is not something I have made up; I have been a guardian, conservator and POA for several people in multiple states for over 30 years, seeing the best and worst.
HB 1204 was a 52 page bill created by special interests to create, protect or implement business plans. HB 1204 was based on the Uniform Power of Attorney (UPOA) concept of model legislation. There are many good ideas in the UPOA but this version had so many issues, it had to die and allow the public to be part of a process to fix what is wrong with our current weak processes.
I have recorded and placed on the Internet, over 3300 public meeting videos to teach others how government and Robert’s Rules processes work. There are rules we outsiders may not fully understand but we must become familiar with them in order to effect and affect change. The Senate Judiciary Committee took about 90 minutes to decide HB 1204 was not a good fit for South Dakota. Here is my video of the meeting:Â https://youtu.be/-0mk_m6wN84Â How a Bad Bill Dies in Pierre – HB 1204 – UPOA.
If you want to part of the process to fix these laws in South Dakota, please email me at upoa@citizens4integrity.org. If you have a story to share, please feel free to also contact me.