JEFFERSON CITY — A measure sponsored by Sen. Joe Keaveny, D-St. Louis, to ensure citizens under public stewardship receive the best service possible received first-round approval in the Missouri Senate. One more affirmative vote from the upper chamber would send the bill to the House for consideration.

Senate Bill 99 would make the position of the City of St. Louis Public Administrator an appointed position, rather than an elected one. The public administrator would be appointed by a majority of the circuit and associate circuit judges of the 22nd Judicial Circuit Court. By initiating this change, the Office of the Public Administrator would be under the City of St. Louis’ governmental structure.

The legislation is designed to ensure the best representation for citizens who need someone to serve as a guardian or conservator and represent them before the Probate Division of the St. Louis Circuit Court. The Probate Division, in addition to administering decedents’ estates, has general supervisory jurisdiction over the estates of minors and adults who are elderly, mentally ill, or developmentally disabled.

Public administrators charge fees to the estates they administer and heirs pay the cost of their services. However, many incapacitated Missourians do not have estates to which fees can be charged for their guardian’s services. The majority of cases that the City of St. Louis public administrator observes are situations when guardians cannot charge a fee against an inheritance or estate, thus putting the public administrator in a difficult position. Senator Keaveny proposes to convert the Office of the Public Administrator from a fee-based office to a salaried office, in which its services would be paid for by the county.

“My legislation would ensure that the public administrator can continue to look after the needs of our community’s most vulnerable citizens in the most effective way possible,” Sen. Keaveny said. “The legislation would also create additional jobs by developing positions for social workers and administrative assistants to handle the large caseload in the public administrator’s office that is currently handled on a part-time basis by a few staff.”

At the bill’s hearing on Feb. 27, those who testified on behalf of SB 99 included the current City of St. Louis Public Administrator, Gerard A. Nester, and representatives from the 22nd Judicial Court and the Show-Me Institute.

To learn more about SB 99, please visit the Missouri Senate website at www.senate.mo.gov.

.