Bill Text: MI HB5028 | 2009-2010 | 95th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Human services; medical services; pooled trusts for individuals with disabilities; allow. Creates new act.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-06-02 - Printed Bill Filed 05/29/2009 [HB5028 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2009-HB5028-Introduced.html
HOUSE BILL No. 5028
May 28, 2009, Introduced by Rep. Young and referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
A bill to provide for pooled trusts for persons with
disabilities; and to prescribe the powers and duties of certain
state agencies and departments.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the
"pooled trust act".
Sec. 2. As used in this act:
(a) "Beneficiary" means an individual with a disability who
has the right to receive services and benefits of a pooled trust.
(b) "Board" means a group of persons vested with the
management of the business affairs of a trustee.
(c) "Disability" means a physical or mental impairment as
defined in section 1614 of the social security act, 42 USC 1382c.
(d) "Pooled trust" means a trust that meets all of the
following criteria:
(i) Contains assets of more than 1 beneficiary.
(ii) Each beneficiary has a disability.
(iii) The trust is managed by a nonprofit corporation.
(iv) A separate account is maintained for each beneficiary of
the trust, but, for purposes of investment and management of funds,
the trust pools these accounts. Accounts in the trust may be
established by the parent, grandparent, or legal guardian of the
individual with a disability, by the individual with a disability,
or by a court.
(v) Upon the death of a beneficiary, amounts remaining in the
beneficiary's accounts are either to be retained by the trust for
the benefit of the other beneficiaries or other people with
disabilities or to be used to reimburse the state in an amount
equal to the total amount of medical assistance paid by the state
on behalf of the beneficiary.
(e) "Trustee" means a nonprofit organization that manages a
pooled trust.
Sec. 3. (1) A pooled trust shall be administered by a trustee
governed by a board. The trust may employ persons as necessary.
(2) The members of a board and employees of a trustee shall
stand in a fiduciary relationship to the beneficiaries and the
trustee regarding investment of the trust and shall not profit,
either directly or indirectly, with respect to that investment.
(3) A trustee shall maintain a separate account for each
beneficiary of a pooled trust, but for purposes of investment and
management of funds, the trustee may pool these accounts. The
trustee shall have exclusive control and authority to manage and
invest the money in the pooled trust in accordance with this
section, subject to the exercise of the degree of judgment, skill,
and care under the prevailing circumstances that persons of
prudence, discretion, and intelligence, who are familiar with
investment matters, exercise in the management of their affairs,
considering the probable income to be derived from the investment
and the probable safety of their capital. The trustee may charge a
trust management fee to cover the costs of administration and
management of the pooled trust.
(4) A board member shall disclose and abstain from
participation in a discussion or voting on an issue when a conflict
of interest arises with the board member on a particular issue or
vote.
(5) No board member may receive compensation for services
provided as a board member. No fees or commissions may be paid to a
board member. A board member may be reimbursed for necessary
expenses incurred that are in the best interest of the
beneficiaries of the pooled trust as a board member upon
presentation of receipts.
(6) The trustee shall disburse money from a beneficiary's
account only on behalf of the beneficiary. A disbursement from a
beneficiary's account shall only be made if it is in the best
interest of the beneficiary.
Sec. 4. All money received for pooled trust funds shall be
deposited with a court-approved corporate fiduciary or in the state
treasury if no court-approved corporate fiduciary is available to
the trustee. The funds shall be pooled for investment and
management. A separate account shall be maintained for each
beneficiary and quarterly accounting statements shall be provided
to each beneficiary by the trustee. The court-approved corporate
fiduciary or the state treasurer shall provide quarterly accounting
statements to the trustee. The court-approved corporate fiduciary
or the state treasurer may charge a trust management fee to cover
the costs of managing the funds in the pooled trust.
Sec. 5. (1) In addition to reports required to be filed under
state or federal law relating to partnerships and limited liability
companies, the trustee shall file an annual report with the office
of attorney general along with an itemized statement that shows the
funds collected for the year, income earned, salaries paid, other
expenses incurred, and the opening and final trust balances. A copy
of this statement shall be available to the beneficiary, trustor,
or designee of the trustor, upon request.
(2) The trustee shall prepare and provide each trustor or the
trustor's designee annually with a detailed individual statement of
the services provided to the trustor's beneficiary during the
previous 12 months and of the services to be provided during the
following 12 months. The trustee shall provide a copy of this
statement to the beneficiary, upon request.
Sec. 6. (1) In determining eligibility for medical assistance
benefits, the interest of any disabled beneficiary in a pooled
trust shall not be considered as a resource for purposes of
determining the beneficiary's eligibility for medical assistance.
(2) No state agency shall reduce the benefits or services
available to an individual because he or she is a beneficiary of a
pooled trust. The beneficiary's interest in a pooled trust shall
not be reachable in satisfaction of a claim for support and
maintenance of the beneficiary.
Sec. 7. The office of attorney general shall make available
information on the treatment of pooled trusts for the persons with
disabilities in the medical assistance program.
Sec. 8. This act applies to pooled trusts established on or
after the effective date of this act and to the accounts of
individual beneficiaries established on or after the effective date
of this act in pooled trusts created before the effective date of
this act.
Sec. 9. This act takes effect 90 days after it is enacted into
law.
