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.
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Report from the Older Iowans Legislature
Friday January 14, 2022
Members and friends of the Older Iowans Legislature
The Board of Directors of the Older Iowans Legislature has submitted its Priority Issues to the 2022 session of the Iowa General Assembly with the request that these Priority Issues be enacted by the Iowa General Assembly by July 1, 2022. The four (4) Priority Issues are printed below.
The Board of Directors of the Older Iowans Legislature will be closely monitoring the actions of the 2022 session of the Iowa General Assembly and following the progress of all Senate Files and House Files of interest to the Older Iowans Legislature; especially bills related to the OIL Priority Issues listed below.
PRIORITY ISSUES OF THE 2021 OLDER IOWANS LEGISLATURE
- Direct Care Workforce
- “OIL appreciates steps taken by DHS/DPH to advance activities outlined in HF692 (Proposed during the 2021 Legislative Session) by including the expansion of the direct care worker registry and voluntary public portal of caregivers in their American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) spending plan. OIL is committed to helping implement ands sustain this important policy initiative.” (Larry Kudej, Chair, Older Iowans Legislature)
- Elder Abuse
- “Iowa does not have a comprehensive elder abuse law. The Iowa Senate unanimously passed Senate File 522 in March 2021. The Iowa House Judiciary subcommittee also passed SF 522 but it was not acted upon by the full House Judiciary Committee. By passing the Senate in 2021, Senate File 522 only needs to pass the House in 2022 (second year of the two-year session). OIL will continue to support the passage of Senate File 522 which establishes specific penalties for acts of elder abuse including assault, theft, financial exploitation, consumer frauds, & dependent adult abuse. OIL will further collaborate with those entities working on elder abuse legislation.” (Larry Kudej, Chair, Older Iowans Legislature)
- Livable Homes
- “OIL supports the Livable Homes Program Coalition whose aim is to:
- Keep residents in their homes as long as possible
- Return persons to their homes with home modifications
- Support an appropriation request for home modifications or safe at home or Age-In-Place programs language in the Health & Human Services Appropriations bill. “ (Larry Kudej, Chair, Older Iowans Legislature)
- “OIL supports the Livable Homes Program Coalition whose aim is to:
- Long-Term Care Ombudsman
- “The Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman (LTCO) advocates on behalf of residents of long-term care facilities in order to protect their rights. OIL supports efforts to enhance public awareness of the services provided by the office and to provide the money necessary to expand the number of long-term ombudsmen and provide them the tools to perform their jobs effectively, efficiently, and safely.”
- “Federal funds are available under ARPA. OIL supports the LTCO’s request to allocate such funds to include $100,000 to technology and computer upgrades, $50,000 for staff travel expenses, in service, education, and training, and $50,000 for public awareness materials and awareness campaign.”
- “OIL, further supports a bill for an act relating to the Office of the Long-Term Care Ombudsman and making an appropriation of $300,000 to increase the number of long-term care ombudsmen by two and also provide for a Discharge and Transition Specialist. This funding would allow the office to return to the number of ombudsmen it had in 2016 in order to handle the increasing demand for assistance by residents. According to information provided by LTCO and the Department of Inspections and Appeals there are 56,975 long-term care beds in Iowa. The need for more ombudsmen is real. The Specialist will alleviate work currently done by the ombudsmen regarding discharge and transition back into the community.” (Larry Kudej, Chair, Older Iowans Legislature)
Governor Kim Reynolds, Condition of the State, Tuesday January 11, 2022
- One major focus of Governor Reynold’s agenda for the 2022 session of the Iowa General Assembly is to provide education funding for careers in healthcare to ease the shortage of nurses and certified nursing assistants. The Older Iowans Legislature supports programs that will strengthen the Direct Care Workforce in Iowa, especially for recruiting additional nurses and CNA’s in long-term care facilities.
SENATE FILES AND HOUSE FILES (NEWLY INTRODUCED STARTING JANUARY 2022) TO THE 2022 SESSION OF THE IOWA GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF SPECIAL INTEREST TO THE OLDER IOWANS LEGISLATURE.
- SENATE FILES, SENATE STUDY BILLS, HOUSE FILES, AND HOUSE STUDY BILLS INTRODUCED TO 2022 IOWA GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF INTEREST TO THE OLDER IOWANS LEGISLATURE
- THE OLDER IOWANS LEGISLATURE IS STILL FOLLOWING CERTAIN SENATE FILES AND HOUSE FILES FROM THE 2021 SESSION OF THE IOWA GENERAL ASSSEMBLY.
- House File 692: A bill for an act relating to the direct care workforce, including the expansion of the direct care workforce registry.
- Senate File 522: A bill for an act relating to older individuals and dependent adult and creating certain criminal offenses ands civil actions, and providing penalties.
Ron Jome
Secretary, Older Iowans Legislature