Bill > SB243

This bill establishes a centralized public registry for substantiated complaints of adult abuse, neglect, and exploitation, which will be maintained by the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services and made searchable on their website using specific identifying information like a person's name, birth date, and the last four digits of their social security number. It outlines specific investigation requirements and timelines for local departments of social services, mandates the retention and eventual purging of records in an underlying information system, and sets up a formal appeals process—including informal conferences and administrative review hearings overseen by designated hearing officers—for individuals wishing to contest findings that label them as perpetrators. Additionally, the legislation directs the Commissioner for Aging and Rehabilitative Services to create implementation regulations exempt from the standard Administrative Process Act for their initial adoption, ensures broad cooperation among state and local entities, provides pathways for individuals to petition courts regarding reports made in bad faith or with malicious intent, and carries a delayed effective date of July 1, 2028.