Older Iowans Legislature
Pursuing Quality of Life of Iowa's Senior Citizens
The Older Iowans Legislature is a statewide non-partisan, non-profit volunteer organization. Its members advocate for state legislators and the Governor to sign legislation that will result in an improved “Quality of Life for Older Iowans”.
The Older Iowans Legislature places special emphasis on the frail elderly; those citizens who have contributed much to our society, but have exhausted their resources and in need of assistance to lead meaningful lives.
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Report from the Older Iowans Legislature Friday April 5, 2019
Members and friends of the Older Iowans Legislature
The Older Iowans Legislature is following certain Files of interest in the 2019 session of the Iowa General Assembly, which now appears to be coming close to adjournment.
The file subjects of interest to the Older Iowans Legislature are:
• THE CARE ACT (Passed House and Passed Senate)
• Personal degradation by caretakers of dependent adults in facilities and programs regulated by the department of inspections and appeals (Survived the final funnel)
• Exploitation of a dependent adult by a caretaker (Passed House, Unfinished Business Calendar in Senate)
• Opening of guardianships for adults and conservatorships for adults and minors and the administration of guardianships and conservatorships (Passed House, Unfinished Business Calendar in Senate)
A reminder from the Older Iowans Legislature about the Priority Bills from the 2018 session of the Older Iowans Legislature that failed the March 8 first funnel:
• Comprehensive approach to detecting, managing, and preventing elder abuse
• Housing geriatric sex offenders
• Establishing a home modification grant program within the department on aging
FILE OF INTEREST TO THE OLDER IOWANS LEGISLATURE THAT HAS PASSED BOTH CHAMBERS
• Senate File 210: A bill for an act providing for the designation of a lay caregiver relating to a patient’s inpatient stay at a hospital. (Successor to Senate File 84)
• The Older Iowans Legislature on September 25, 2018 enacted support for the CARE ACT as one of its Priority Issues
• The bill requires a hospital to adopt and maintain evidence-based discharge policies and procedures that provide for an assessment of the patient’s ability for self-care after discharge and provide the patient or, if applicable, the patient’s legal representative, with an opportunity to designate one lay caregiver prior to the patient’s discharge from the hospital.
• February 7, 2019: Introduced, placed on calendar
• February 7, 2019: Committee report, approving bill
• March 26, 2019: Passed Senate, yeas 49, nays 0
• March 26, 2019: Immediate message
• March 26, 2019: Message from Senate
• March 26, 2019: Read first time, passed on file
• March 28, 2019: Substituted for House File 533
• March 28, 2019: Passed House, yeas 94, nays 3
• March 28, 2019: Immediate message
• March 28, 2019: Message from House
FILE OF INTEREST TO THE OLDER IOWANS LEGISLATURE THAT HAS PASSED ONE CHAMBER AND NOW HAS PASSED A COMMITTEE IN THE OTHER CHAMBER
• House File 304: A bill for an act relating to reports of personal degradation by caretakers of dependent adults in facilities and programs regulated by the department of inspections and appeals. (Successor to House Study Bill 74)
• The bill expands current law to provide that a report of dependent adult abuse involving personal degradation by a caretaker of a dependent adult in a facility or program which DIA determines is minor, isolated, and unlikely to reoccur shall be collected and maintained by DHS as an assessment only for a five-year period, shall not be included in the central dependent adult abuse registry, and shall not be considered founded dependent adult abuse.
• February 6, 2019: Introduced, placed on calendar
• March 14, 2019: Passed House, yeas 96, nays none
• March 14, 2019: Immediate message
• March 18, 2019: Message from House
• March 18, 2019: Read first time, referred to Human Resources
• March 19. 2019: Subcommittee: Greene, Costello, and Mathis
• March 26, 2019: Committee report, recommending passage
FILES OF INTEREST TO THE OLDER IOWANS LEGISLATURE THAT ARE PLACED ON UNFINISHED BUSINESS
• House File 323: A bill for an act relating to the exploitation of a dependent adult by a caretaker. (Formerly House Study Bill 21) (Companion to Senate File 153)
• February 8, 2019: Introduced, placed on calendar
• February 20.2019: Passed House, yeas 98, nays none
• February 20, 2019: Immediate passage
• February 21, 2019: Message from House
• February 21, 2019: Read first time and attached to companion Senate File 153
• April 4, 2019: Placed on Unfinished Business Calendar in Senate
• Senate File 153: A bill for an act relating to the exploitation of a dependent adult by a caretaker. (Formerly Senate Study Bill 1015)
• The bill eliminates the requirement that a caregiver taking unfair advantage of a dependent adult’s physical or financial resources must do so for the caregiver’s own personal or pecuniary profit.
• January 30, 2019: Introduced, placed on calendar
• January 30, 2019: Committee report, approving bill
• April 4, 2019: Placed on Unfinished Business Calendar in Senate
• House File 610: A bill for an act relating to the opening of guardianships for adults and conservatorships for adults and minors and the administration of guardianships and conservatorships.
• March 4, 2019: Introduced, placed on calendar
• March 11, 2019: Fiscal note
• March 12, 2019: Amendment H-1025 filed
• March 19, 2019: Amendment H-1057 filed
• March 20, 2019: Amendment H-1061 filed
• March 21, 2019: Passed House, yeas 97, nays 0
• March 21, 2019: Immediate message
• March 25, 2019: Message from House
• March 25, 2019: Read first time and attached to similar Senate File 424
• April 4, 2019: Placed on Unfinished Business Calendar in Senate
• Senate File 424: A bill for an act relating to the opening of guardianships for adults and conservatorships for adults and minors and the administration of guardianships and conservatorships. (Formerly Senate Study Bill 1018).
• February 28, 2019: Introduced, placed on calendar
• February 28, 2019: Committee report, approving bill
• March 11, 2019: Fiscal note
• March 25, 2019: Attached to similar House File 610
• April 4, 2019: Placed on Unfinished Business Calendar in Senate
• Senate File 426: A bill for an act including personal degradation of a dependent adult as a form of dependent adult abuse by a caretaker regulated by the department of human services, and making penalties applicable. (Formerly Senate Study Bill 1062).
• February 28, 2019: Introduced, placed on calendar
• February 28, 2019: Committee report, approving bill
• March 5, 2019: Fiscal note
• April 4, 2019: Placed on Unfinished Business Calendar in Senate
• Senate File 152: A bill for an act relating to the definition of vulnerable elder. (Formerly Senate Study Bill 1014)
• The bill modifies the definition of vulnerable elder to provide that a “vulnerable elder” is a person 60 years of age or older who is unable to protect himself or herself from elder abuse as a result of both the person’s age and mental or physical condition.
• January 30, 2019: Introduced, placed on calendar
• January 30, 2019: Committee report, approving bill
• April 4, 2019: Placed on Unfinished Business Calendar in Senate
• Senate File 522: A bill for an act relating to grandparent and great-grandparent visitation. (Formerly Senate File 10).
• By Committee on Judiciary
• March 7, 2019: Introduced, placed on calendar
• March 7, 2019: Committee report, approving bill
• April 4, 2019: Placed on Unfinished Business Calendar in Senate
FILES OF INTEREST TO THE OLDER IOWANS LEGISLATURE THAT APPEAR TO HAVE FAILED THE FINAL FUNNEL
• House File 569: A bill for an act relating to personal degradation of a dependent adult as a form of dependent adult abuse by a caregiver regulated by the department of human services, and making penalties applicable. (By Committee on Judiciary) (Successor to House Study Bill 112)
• The bill defines “personal degradation” as a willful act or statement by a caretaker intended to shame, degrade, humiliate, or otherwise harm a dependent adult’s personal dignity, or a willful act or statement by a caretaker where the caretaker knew of reasonably should have known the act or statement would shame, degrade, humiliate, or otherwise harm the dependent adult’s personal dignity.
• February 28, 2019: Introduced, placed on calendar
• March 28, 2019: Amendment H-1089 filed
• House File 328: A bill for an act relating to the definition of vulnerable elder. (Formerly House Study Bill 30)
• February 8, 2019: Introduced, placed on calendar
SENATE RESOLUTION OF INTEREST TO THE OLDER IOWANS LEGISLATURE
• Senate Resolution 4: A resolution requesting the convening of a conference of stakeholders to discuss the state’s strategy for addressing the increasing aging population in Iowa and its effect on the state and Iowa’s communities.
• Be it resolved by the Senate, That the Senate requests that the Department of Public Health and the Department on Aging, in collaboration with the Iowa Hospital Association, convene a stakeholder conference at an independent, nonprofit, acute-care medical center, originally established in 1900 and currently housing a Family Caregivers Center, located in an eastern Iowa metropolitan area with a population of approximately 250,000.
• Be it further resolved, That the stakeholder conference convened shall conduct a statewide discussion regarding the state’s strategy to address the increasing aging population in Iowa and its effect on the state and Iowa’s communities, including the increasing prevalence of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, and report findings and recommendations to the Governor and the General Assembly by November 15, 2019.
• February 13, 2019: Resolution filed, referred to Human Resources
• February 13, 2019: Subcommittee: Costello, Mathis, and Segebart
Ron Jome
Secretary, Board of Directors, Older Iowans Legislature