AFP-2 Senior Assembly Member Lopes: Surviving Spouse Home Sale Benefit.

This proposal authorizes certain surviving spouses to exclude $500,000 of home sale capital gain.

AFP-4 Senior Assembly Member Lopes: Federal Income Tax Deductions for Medical Expenses.

This proposal allows persons 65 and older to fully deduct all medical expenses.

AFP-7 Senior Assembly Member Loh and Senior Senator Epstein: Prescription Drugs.

	This proposal authorizes Medicare to negotiate drug prices and pass the savings to beneficiaries.
	AJR 31 (Jones) Medicare Part D.
	This measure would urge the Congress and the President of the United States to amend the Medicare Modernization Act of 2003 to require that the federal government negotiate for the lowest available prices for prescription drugs under the Medicare Part D program, eliminate a specified gap in Medicare Part D coverage, and reduce the "lifetime penalty" for late enrollment in the program, that ensurer that dual eligibles have continuous comprehensive access to prescription drugs. This measure would also urge the Congress and the President of the United States to ensure that California is fully reimbursed for the costs of remedying problems with the implementation and operation of the Medicare Part D program, to grant California greater regulatory jurisdiction over Medicare Part D plans, and eliminate out-of-pocket costs for persons who are dual eligibles for Medicare and California's Medi-Cal program, and provide a true safety-net, including Medicaid wraparound coverage.             7/23/08: Chaptered: Resolution Chapter 96, Statutes of 2008.

SFP-3 Senior Senator Cox and Senior Assembly Member Dahigren: Medicare Coverage of Dental Care.

This proposal expands Medicare coverage to include oral health.

Summary of the Other State Legislative Proposals

AP - Senior Assembly Proposals       SP - Senior Senate Proposals

AP-2 Senior Assembly Member Lola Young: Auto Insurance: Providers of In-Home Supportive Services.

	This proposal prohibits the issuance of an auto insurance policy that excludes use by an IHSS provider for IHSS services.
	AB 2139 (De La Torre) Auto insurance: in-home supportive services,.
	Existing law generally regulates auto insurance. Existing law prohibits an auto liability insurance policy from containing specified provisions.    This bill would prohibit an auto liability policy from containing any provision that expressly or impliedly excludes from coverage under the policy the operation or use of an insured motor vehicle by the named insured in the performance of any in-home supportive services, as described. The bill would prohibit a vehicle covered under an auto liability policy from being classified as a common carrier, livery, or for-hire vehicle solely for the reason that the named insured or applicant is operating or using the insured vehicle to provide transportation incidental to the provision of in-home supportive services under specified conditions.  The bill would provide that an in-home supportive services provider must maintain, and upon request of an insurer processing a claim from that provider, furnish satisfactory proof of a professional relationship that existed at the time of the claim with an in-home supportive services recipient, as specified.  The bill would provide that the recipient must consent in writing to the release of specified information by a provider to an insurer, or its release is not authorized.
	9/27/08: Vetoed by the Governor.

AP-4 Senior Assembly Member Krohn: Elder Abuse.

	This proposal requires long-term health care facilities and local ombudsmen to report alleged or suspected elder abuse to the district attorney.
	AB 2100 (Wolk) Elder abuse: reporting.
	Existing law, the Elder Abuse and Dependent Adult Civil Protection Act, establishes various procedures for the reporting, investigation, and prosecution of elder and dependent adult abuse. These procedures require certain persons, called mandated reporters, to report known or suspected instances of elder or dependent adult abuse. Under existing law, if the abuse has occurred in a long-term care facility, the mandated reporter must report the abuse to the local ombudsperson or the local law enforcement agency. Existing law provides that, except in an emergency, the local ombudsperson and the local law enforcement agency are required to make reports about abuse reported to them to specified entities authorized to receive that information as soon as practicable. This bill would require the local ombudsperson and the local law enforcement agency to immediately report cases of known or suspected physical abuse, which includes sexual abuse, and financial abuse to the local district attorney's office in the county where the abuse occurred. Because failure to report physical abuse and financial abuse of an elder or dependent adult under the act is a misdemeanor, this bill would change the scope of an existing crime thus constituting a state-mandated local program. By increasing the duties of local district attorneys, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason. With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
	9/28/08: Chaptered, Chapter 481, Statutes of 2008.

AP-5 Senior Assembly Member Krohn: Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse.

This proposal requires that all elder abuse be classified as criminal action; that the DOJ develop standardized reporting forms and coding systems; and that law enforcement receive training and utilize the reporting schemes.

AP-8 Senior Assembly Members Lucero & Monck: Senior Citizens: Computers.

This proposal establishes senior citizen computer discounts, instructions, and tutorials, and provides tax breaks to corporations that agree.

AP-9 Senior Assembly Member Lucero: Food Safety.

This proposal requires that packaged food sold in California include an obvious marking of the date after which the contents should not be consumed.

AP-11 Senior Assembly Member Friedman and Senior Senator Woods: HIV/AIDS Education for Older Adults.

This proposal requires physicians and health care providers to provide seniors with information regarding HIV/AIDS prevention and testing.

AP-12 Senior Assembly Member Serrin: Rental Assistance: Shared Housing.

	This proposal requires that HUD Section 8 housing authorization be expanded to allow two bedroom shared rental options for senior.
	AB 2521 (Portantino) Housing authorities: federal vouchers and certificates: shared housing
	The Housing Authorities Law authorizes a county public housing agency to apply for, process, and distribute, to the extent that federal funds are available, housing certificates issued pursuant to Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 to eligible families.    This bill would require the Department of Housing and Community Development to work with the federal Secretary of Housing and Urban Development and the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to authorize the state to require a public housing agency to (1) establish a policy in its administrative plan to make shared housing available to recipients of specified federal housing certificates and vouchers who have special needs; and (2) adjust the agency housing assistance payment required under federal law to an amount that is sufficient to reduce the recipient's share of rent to 20% of monthly income, for a recipient who has special needs and utilizes the shared housing.    The bill would require the department’s compliance under these provisions to include making information available to the federal Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, and the California delegation in the Congress of the United States regarding the need for, and the potential benefits of, a grant of authority to the state to require public housing agencies to do the things described above.
	4/22/08: Amended in Committee on Housing and Community Development.
	AJR 21 (Portantino) Public Housing Agencies
	This measure would urge each public housing agency in the state that provides housing vouchers or certificates under Section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 to include shared housing as an option for all Section 8 recipients, especially extremely low income special needs households, such as foster youth, recipients who receive assistance under the federal Supplemental Security Income program, and the elderly, in the next plan the agency submits to the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.    The measure would also memorialize the President and the Congress of the United States to enact legislation reducing the tenant's portion of the rent to 20% of monthly income for extremely low income special needs Section 8 recipients who utilize shared housing.
	9/5/08: Chaptered: Resolution Chapter 126, Statutes of 2008.

AP-16 Senior Assembly Member Rosenberg: Long-Term Health Care Facilities: Wheelchairs.

This proposal requires long-term care facilities to record a wheelchair’s serial number on a patient’s personal property inventory.

AP-20 Senior Assembly Member Norma Campbell and Senior Senator Steir: Prisons: Senior Inmates.

This proposal requires the Department of Corrections to consider the needs of senior inmates when training officers and planning facilities.

AP-21 Senior Assembly Member Tucker: Medi-Cal: Benefits.

This proposal increases the monthly allowance for personal and incidental needs for a Medi-Cal beneficiary.

AP-22 Senior Assembly Member Tucker: Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse.

	This proposal increases elder abuse fines by 10% to fund local jurisdiction efforts to combat elder abuse.
	AB 1900 (Nava) Amended in its entirety to an unrelated purpose June 16, 2008.

AP-23 Senior Assembly Member Wieck: Long-Term Care Ombudsman.

This proposal provides for the appointment of the State long-term care ombudsman by a committee of ombudsman program directors.

AP-24 Senior Assembly Member Bloch: Senior Housing.

This proposal requires the county Department of Health and Human Services to coordinate a training program for unlicensed senior rental housing managers.

AP-26 Senior Assembly Member Hartmann: Mobilehome Park: Rent Control.

This proposal eliminates existing mobilehome park rent control statutes.

AP-27 Senior Assembly Member Krohn: Elder Death Review Teams.

This proposal expands the jurisdiction of elder death review teams to include the death of dependent adults, and requires the development of training kits and ongoing training.

SP-3 Senior Senator Epstein and Senior Assembly Member Loh: Insurance: Fraudulent Denial of Claims.

This proposal requires the Insurance Commissioner develop efficient methods of registering fraudulent denials of long-term care insurance claims and to investigate and prosecute violators.

SP-5 Senior Senator Erven: Personal Sanitation Appliances.

This proposal directs agencies overseeing the construction and renovation of buildings to provide at least two public sanitation appliances for women for every one for men.

SP-13 Senior Senator Kim-Selby: Automated External Defibrillators: Signs: Public Awareness Campaign.

This proposal creates a statewide symbol for automated external defibrillators and develops a public awareness campaign.

SP-18 Senior Senator Godager and Messier: Mello-Granlund Older Americans Act.

	This proposal amends the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act to define disability.
	AB 2160 (Carter)  Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act: disability: definition
	Under existing law, the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act, the California Department of Aging, and local area agencies on aging administer various programs for elderly persons. This act, with certain exceptions, does not contain a definition of disability.    This bill would define "disability" for purposes of the act as either a mental or physical disability, as defined.             9/28/08: Vetoed by the Governor.

SP-19 Senior Senator Levy and Senior Assembly Member Monck: Long-Term Care Options.

This proposal establishes the right of a person to receive long-term care services in the community in lieu of institutionalized care.

SP-20 Senior Senator Mann: Suicide Prevention Program.

This proposal requires the Department of Aging to replicate a specified suicide prevention program for older adults.

SP-23 Senior Senator Lundin: Senior Financial Abuse.

This proposal prevents financial institutions from targeting and abusing seniors, preventing seniors from entering into bad investments.

SP-24 Senior Senator Lundin: Senior Housing: Security.

This proposal increases security and surveillance at all long-term care facilities and provides security training.

SP-26 Senior Senator Marti: Medical Records: Access for Seniors.

This proposal requires a health care provider to provide to seniors their medical records at no charge.

SP-27 Senior Senator Mack: Pharmacists.

This proposal requires pharmacists to include large-print information regarding dangers of combination with alcohol or other medications.

SP-28 Senior Senator Winslow: Public Safety: Crosswalk, Curb, and Sidewalk Improvement.

This proposal requires safety and accessibility measures be incorporated in infrastructure to better protect seniors and disabled, including wider sidewalks, additional time to cross roads, auditory signals and uniformity in ramps, etc.

SP-29 Senior Senator Kim-Selby: Senior Volunteers.

	This proposal proclaims the month of May to be Senior Volunteer Month to honor volunteers.
	ACR 111 (Huffman) Senior Volunteer Month.
	This measure would recognize the month of May 2008 as Senior Volunteer Month to honor the contributions of California senior volunteers.             5/12/08:  Chaptered: Resolution Chapter 34, Statutes of 2008

SP-30 Senior Senator Griswold: Elder & Dependent Adult Abuse.

This proposal requires the Attorney General to conduct a comprehensive study of elder abuse, including detection, prosecution and deterrence.

SP-31 Senior Senator Faustman: Retirement Boards.

This proposal requires member approval before lending retirement system moneys to the State and requires payback to include interest.

Summary of the Other Federal Legislative Proposals

AFP - Senior Assembly Federal Proposal       SFP - Senior Senate Federal Proposal

AP-25 (2006) Senior Assembly Member L. Young:  Nursing Home End-of-Life Privacy.

	This proposal requires nursing homes to provide a private room for a resident who has been diagnosed as terminal.
	AB 1142 (Salas) Hospice care.
	Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of health facilities by the State Department of Public Health.      Existing law defines a "skilled nursing facility" as a health facility that provides skilled nursing care and supportive care to patients whose primary need is that of availability of care on an extended basis. Existing law imposes specified requirements upon skilled nursing facilities with regard to, among other things, its patients, staffing ratios, and the medical services provided by those facilities.     The bill would require the department, no later than January 1, 2009, to identify innovative end-of-life and palliative care models for residents of skilled nursing facilities and residential care facilities for the elderly, as prescribed, and to provide specified information about those care models to each licensed freestanding skilled nursing facility, residential care facility for the elderly, home health agency, and hospice in the state. The bill would also require the department to post related information on those resident care models on the department's Web site.     The bill, in addition, would require the department to conduct a comprehensive review of the state's licensing and reimbursement policies to determine how best to expand and facilitate the availability of quality options for hospice and palliative care services delivered to residents of skilled nursing facilities and residential care facilities for the elderly, to work with stakeholders to identify regulatory or statutory barriers inhibiting skilled nursing facilities from implementing model programs for resident hospice services, and to report to the Legislature, on or before January 1, 2009, and make recommendations on the best ways to remove identified barriers.         10/11/07: Vetoed by the Governor.  Reconsideration pending.  1/14/08: Consideration of veto stricken.

SP-3 (2006) Senior Senator Goldman:  Senior Citizen ID Cards.

	This proposal requires the DMV to notify seniors who choose not to renew driver’s licenses that a senior citizen ID card is available free of charge.
	AB-966 (Krekorian) Driver's license renewal: senior citizens
	Existing law allows a person 62 years of age or older to be issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles, free of a charge, an identification card bearing the notation "Senior Citizen."    This bill would require the department to include with every notice of renewal of a driver's license that is mailed to a licensed driver, a notice that a person who is 62 years of age or older may be issued, free of charge, an identification card bearing the notation "Senior Citizen."             10/10/07: Vetoed by the Governor.  Reconsideration pending.  1/14/08: Consideration of veto stricken.

The following proposal from the 2006 CSL Session has been authored in the current session:

AP-12 (2006) Senior Assembly Member Loh:  Elder Abuse Reporting.

	This proposal requires elder abuse reports to be made to long-term care ombudsmen, law enforcement and Adult Protective Services. It authorizes long-term care ombudsmen to act as a victim’s legal representative.
	AB 1765 (Blakeslee) Elder abuse: mandated reporters.
	Existing law provides for the reporting of actual or suspected physical or other abuse, as defined, of an elder or dependent adult by specified persons and entities and imposes various requirements on state and local agencies in processing, investigating, and reporting on these reports. Violation of those provisions is a misdemeanor.     Existing law provides that if the abuse has occurred in a long-term care facility, the mandated reporter shall report the abuse to the local ombudsman or the local law enforcement agency.     This bill would instead require the mandated reporter to report the abuse to both the local ombudsman and the local law enforcement agency.     Existing law provides that if the abuse has occurred in any place other than a long-term care facility, the mandated reporter shall report the abuse to the adult protective services agency or the local law enforcement agency.     This bill would instead require the mandated reporter to report the abuse to both the adult protective services agency and the local law enforcement agency.     By changing the definition of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.     This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.             1/28/08: To Public Safety Committee and Aging & Long Term Care Committee.

The following proposal from the 2004 CSL Session has been authored in the current session:

AFP-1 (2004) Senior Assembly Member Karr: Elder Abuse Prevention Postage.

	This proposal establishes a special rate of postage and a special postage stamp regarding elder abuse prevention and awareness to help fund prevention programs.
	SJR 12 (Simitian) Elder abuse awareness stamp.
	This measure would request the President and the Congress of the United States to enact legislation that would authorize the United States Postmaster General to establish a special rate of postage for first-class mail, and to issue a special postage stamp, to provide funds for elder abuse prevention and awareness programs.             2/22/08: Chaptered: Resolution Chapter 5, Statutes of 2008.