Early this week, I had the honor of speaking with several members of the Silver Haired Legislature (SHL). The pride these fine folks display in their local communities is inspiring, as is their continued involvement and care for our state government. The SHL is an elected body of citizens aged 60 and older who volunteer their time to advocate for legislation relating to Missouri’s older adults. This group is a grass roots organization that takes concerns from the local communities to regional meetings, to the state convention in the fall where the top five concerns are addressed in a model legislative session. I had the opportunity to speak to these men and women at the Care Connection regional meeting on many topics concerning today’s aging population, including legislation from the recent session and current budget items of interest.
Of course, one of the most important pieces of legislation to pass during the 2012 legislative session wasHouse Bill 1731. I am proud to say that this measure passed the Senate unanimously, providing a dedicated funding source and staffing to Missouri’s seven veterans’ homes, including our local Warrensburg Veterans Home, by allocating money to the Veterans’ Commission Capital Improvement Trust Fund (VCCITF) from funds gathered by the state’s Gaming Trust Fund. This bill contained an emergency clause, which means that it took effect on May 30, when the governor signed it. I had the particular honor of joining the governor at the Warrensburg Veterans Home for the ceremonial bill signing that took place there.
Another major piece of legislation of importance to our older citizens that made it through the General Assembly was Senate Bill 689. The bill contains many provisions, but in terms of our seniors, it modifies current law making recklessly or purposely harming an elderly person a crime of second degree elder abuse. The measure also adds the term “undue influence” to certain acts that are part of the crime “financial exploitation.” Our senior citizens have earned our respect. Those who seek to take unfair advantage of an elderly person’s loneliness or state of mind in order to unlawfully gain deserve to be punished under the law. Slated to take effect Aug. 28, after it is signed by the governor, these definitions will be put in place and upheld as law, protecting our citizens from these kinds of malicious physical or financial attacks.
The FY 2013 budget will take effect July 1 of this year. My colleagues and I worked hard to pass a balanced budget, and we did so one day prior to the constitutional deadline. A few items in this year’s budget that are particularly important to seniors center around home- and community-based services. The budget for FY 2013 adds not only funds to provide 90 new full-time employees to these programs in order to assist seniors who wish to remain in their homes, but also general revenue funds to provide services such as home-delivered meals, Medicaid waiver programs, or personal care services. Services such as these can help provide our elderly neighbors with a quality of life that might otherwise be severely lacking. For more information on service such as home- and community-based services, please visit www.dss.mo.gov and click on the “Health Care” link. There are many topics available for viewing, including Medicaid, which includes the “Home-and Community-Based Services” link.
I had a great time visiting with the folks from the Silver Haired Legislature in the 13-county area served by Care Connection. It is always a pleasure to address issues with such well-informed and involved citizens. I look forward to many more opportunities for such visits.
As always, please feel free to contact me or my staff with any questions or concerns at any time. We look forward to hearing your comments and suggestions and trying to answer any questions you may have. You can reach us by phone at 866-277-0882 (toll-free) or 573-751-2272, or by fax at 573-526-7381.
Senator David Pearce serves Bates, Cass, Johnson and Vernon counties in the 31st State Senatorial District.
