TN House Bill 941

Legislation

State: Tennessee
Signed: April 02, 2018

Effective: April 02, 2018
Chapter: 605

Summary

House Bill 941 allows an adult with a disability to name a supportive decision maker to help in making life decisions in an agreement that must be signed before 2 witnesses or be acknowledged before a Notary or notarial officer.

Affects

Creates Sections 34-9-101 through 34-9-111 in the Tennessee Code Annotated.

Changes

Defines "supportive decision making" as a process of supporting and accommodating an adult with a disability to enable the adult to make life decisions related to education, finances and medical treatment, including the services, supports, and medical care the adult wants to receive. It also includes decisions such as with whom the adult wants to live and spend time and where the adult wants to work without impeding the self-determination of the adult.
Requires a supportive decision-making agreement to be witnessed before 2 witnesses or notarized.

Analysis

Supportive decision-making allows an adult with a disability to name another individual to be that person's supportive decision-maker in a supportive decision-making agreement. The decision-maker helps the adult make educational, financial and medical decisions as well as other important life decisions. Thus, supportive decision-making "is an alternative to guardianship. Guardians make decisions for the person with a disability. However, supported decision-making allows the person with the disability to make his or her own decisions instead of having someone else make them for him or her" (From About SDM, What is Supported Decision-making at supporteddecisions.org).

House Bill 941 was the companion bill of Senate Bill 264, which was also enacted into law.

Read the bill text.