May 26, 2019- SACRAMENTO - In honor of Older Americans Month, two bills authored by Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) to prepare for California’s rapidly growing population of aging adults and protect them from falls passed off the Senate floor with unanimous support today. Senate Bill 228 will establish a Master Plan for Aging Californians and Senate Bill 280 will help aging and disabled adults make home modifications to reduce their risk of dangerous and often life-threatening falls. The bills now move to the Assembly.

“By 2030, our older population will nearly double in California, bringing an increase of 4 million people over the age of 65. We owe it to our aging adults and their families to ensure we are prepared to meet their needs and allow them to live safely and responsibly at home as long as possible. We cannot not leave our aging adults behind,” said Senator Jackson.

Senate Bill 228 seeks to establish a Master Plan for Aging Californians. The bill calls for a “Master Plan Director” appointed by the Governor to lead a 13-member task force that would work with stakeholders and state agencies to identify the policies and priorities necessary to prepare California for its growing aging population.

The task force would evaluate existing programs and services; work across state agencies to address bottlenecks, programmatic shortfalls and needs; and coordinate communication between departments on the subject of aging services to ensure they are considering the needs and challenges of older Californians as they develop their initiatives and services. It would include representation from consumers, health care, long-term services and supports, labor, transportation, housing, government, and historically overlooked communities.

Senator Jackson’s Senate Bill 280 will assist older and disabled adults with home modifications to help reduce their risk of falling and allow more Californians to age independently in their homes. Under SB 280, the Area Agencies on Aging will be responsible for providing home assessments as well as funding for injury prevention needs, such as installing grab bars and handrails for adults who are unable to pay for them.

Additionally, the bill asks the Building Standards Commission to include, at its next triennial review, specified fall prevention structural features designed to prevent falls in home construction going forward. These features may include but are not limited to such concepts as one bedroom and one bathroom on the ground floor with widened doorways, reachable electrical controls, and blocking in bathrooms to allow future installation of grab bars and other fall prevention devices.

Senator Jackson also introduced Senate Resolution 39 this week to declare May as Older Americans Month and raise awareness about the contributions of California’s older adults as well as the challenges they continue to face.

Jackson represents the 19th Senate District, which includes all of Santa Barbara County and western Ventura County.
Source: Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson