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.
Please take a look at our web site and join our efforts to pursue quality of life for our elderly.
Find out about us, and how to contact your local OIL representative.
Get involved and get on our mailing list.
Get contact info for your local officials and tell them you support OIL's legislative goals.
Latest News
Download Our Brochure
Report from the Older Iowans Legislature Friday March 8, 2019
Members and friends of the Older Iowans Legislature
First funnel on Friday March 8, 2019: The final date for Senate bills and joint resolutions to be reported out of Senate committees and House bills and joint resolutions out of House committees.
The Older Iowans Legislature is pleased that bills on the following subjects survived the March 8 funnel:
• THE CARE ACT
• Bills defining vulnerable elder and personal degradation of dependent adults
• Guardianships and conservatorships
The Older Iowans Legislature is disappointed that Senate Files similar to OIL Bills did NOT survive the March 8 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 and providing an appropriation
A review of the OIL Bills that were submitted to the Iowa General Assembly and have now failed to survive the March 8 funnel is at the end of this report.
Files of interest to the Older Iowans Legislature that SURVIVED the March 8 funnel
• THE CARE ACT
• 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.
• House File 533: A bill for an act providing for the designation of a lay caregiver relating to a patient’s inpatient stay at a hospital.
• Exploitation of a dependent adult by a caretaker
• House File 323: A bill for an act relating to the exploitation of a dependent adult by a caretaker.
• Senate File 153: A bill for an act relating to exploitation of a dependent adult by a caretaker.
• Definition of vulnerable elder
• Senate File 152: A bill for an act relating to the definition of vulnerable elder.
• House File 328: A bill for an act relating to the definition of vulnerable elder.
• Personal degradation by caretakers of dependent adults in facilities and programs regulated by the department of inspections and appeals
• 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.
• Personal degradation of a dependent adult as a form of dependent adult abuse by a caretaker regulated by the department of human services
• 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.
• 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.
• Opening of guardianships and conservatorships
• 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.
• House File 610: A bill for an act relating to the opening of guardianships for adults and conservatorships for adults and minor and the administration of guardianships and conservatorships.
Files of primary interest to the Older Iowans Legislature that DIED at the March 8 funnel
• Senate File 244: A bill for an act relating to a study concerning a comprehensive approach to detecting, managing, and preventing elder abuse.
• Senate File 144: A bill for an act relating to the development and issuance of a request for proposals to provide housing for certain geriatric persons.
• Senate File 190: A bill for an act establishing a home modification grant program within the department on aging, and providing an appropriation.
• Senate File 269: A bill for an act establishing a home modification grant program within the department on aging, and providing an appropriation.
Files of secondary interest to the Older Iowans Legislature that DIED at the March 8 funnel
• House File 234: A bill for an act providing a property assessment adjustment for certain property of persons who have attained the age of sixty-seven years, six months, providing a penalty, and including retroactive and other applicability provisions.
• Senate File 38: A bill for an act providing a property assessment adjustment for certain property of persons who have attained the age of sixty five, providing a penalty and including retroactive and other applicability provisions.
• Senate File 100: A bill for an act establishing a homestead adjustment property tax credit for certain property of persons who have attained the age of sixty five or who are totally disabled, applying income limitations, providing a penalty, making appropriations, and including retroactive and other applicability provisions.
• Senate File 10: A bill for an act relating to grandparent and great-grandparent visitation.
• House File 37: A bill for an act relating to reduced fees for camping, use of rental facilities, and other special privileges for certain older Iowans.
SENATE AND HOUSE FILES THAT “SURVIVED” THE MARCH 8 FUNNEL
• House File 533: 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 House File 340) (Companion to Senate File 84 by Segebart)
• February 26, 2019: Introduced, placed on calendar
• 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, 2 019: Committee report, approving bill
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
• 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
PRIORITY OIL BILLS FROM THE 2018 OLDER IOWANS LEGISLATURE THAT DID NOT SURVIVE THE MARCH 8 FUNNEL
• Senate File 244: A bill for an act relating to a study concerning a comprehensive approach to detecting, managing, and preventing elder abuse.
• The Older Iowans Legislature on September 25, 2018 enacted OIL Bill 18-01B: A bill for an act to provide a comprehensive approach to Iowa Elder Abuse Law
• The bill requires the department on aging to conduct an elder abuse study with representatives for the department on aging, the department of human services, the department of inspections and appeals, the department of public safety, the department of corrections, the division of insurance of the department of commerce, the department of justice, AARP Iowa, the older Iowans legislature, and other stakeholders as deemed appropriate by the department on aging to study issues and develop policy recommendations relating to the detection, management, and prevention of elder abuse.
• The study group shall examine issues relating to the protection of Iowans 60 years of age and older against all of the recognized categories of abuse as outlined by the national center on elder abuse; the definition of mandatory reporters of elder abuse; the availability of legal and financial assistance for victims of elder abuse; educational and training requirements for medical staff, investigators, and others; the establishment of a central registry of persons who have committed elder abuse; access to information necessary to maximize assistance to elder abuse victims while protecting victim privacy; the use of multidisciplinary teams that aid in the detection, management, and prevention of elder abuse; the utilization of special elder abuse investigators; and existing laws regarding elder abuse.
• February 12, 2019: Introduced, referred to Human Resources
• February 13, 2019: Subcommittee: Segebart, Garrett and Ragan
• March 8, 2019: Died at the funnel
• Senate File 269: A bill for an act establishing a home modification grant program within the department on aging, and providing an appropriation.
• To provide home modification grants pursuant to, and for the administration of, the home modification grant program established in section 231.67: $1,000,000.
• February 14, 2019: Introduced, referred to Human Resources
• March 4, 2019: Subcommittee: Costello, Garrett, and Ragan
• March 8, 2019: Died at the funnel
• Senate File 190: A bill for an act establishing a home modification grant program within the department on aging, and providing an appropriation.
• The Older Iowans Legislature on September 25, 2018 enacted OIL Bill 18-02: A bill for an act to provide state assistance in funding modifications to help older adults to safely stay in their own homes.
• To receive a grant under the program, a qualified homeowner must have an income at or below the annual Iowa median household income, be the owner of a residential real property in the state that is the primary residence of the owner, and be a qualified person or reside with a spouse or dependent who is a quailed person.
• Grants under the program are limited to not more than $5,000 per primary residence and may only be used for modifications or improvements to a qualified person’s residence that are certified by a medical provider as necessary to accommodate the qualified person.
• Under the bill, a “modification or improvement” does not include the construction of a new residence, or an addition to or modification of an existing residence that expands the living area but is not otherwise described as an allowable modification or improvement under the bill.
• For administration of and the issuance of grants pursuant to the home modification grant program established in section 231.67: $600,00.
• February 5, 2019: Introduced, referred to Human Resources
• February 5, 2019: Subcommittee: Costello, Carlin and Jochum
• March 8, 2019: Died at the funnel
• Senate File 144: A bill for an act relating to the development and issuance of a request for proposals to provide housing for certain geriatric persons.
• The Older Iowans Legislature on September 25, 2018 enacted OIL Bill 18-01A: A bill for an act to implement action on the Geriatric Patient Housing Review Report.
• This bill requires the department on aging and the departments of human services, inspections and appeals, and corrections, cooperatively, to develop and issue a request for proposals (RFP) to solicit potential operators of a facility in the state for geriatric persons, including geriatric individuals who are registered on the sex offender registry or who are sexually aggressive.
• January 29, 2019: Introduced, referred to Human Resources
• February 5, 2019: Subcommittee: Segebart, Carlin, and Ragan
• March 8, 2019: Died at the funnel
Ron Jome
Secretary, Board of Directors, Older Iowans Legislature