Stephanie Guidry - May 8, 2009 - 3:40 PM

As you may know, the percentage of the aging population is projected to increase dramatically in coming years as the Baby Boomer cohort ages.  UWT has been working diligently this session to ensure that Texas is prepared for this change in the population; in fact, two bills in the legislature would help to proactively handle this population shift.

The first bill, HB 610 and it’s companion on the Senate side SB 1230, establishes the Legislative Committee on Aging to study issues relating to the aging population, receive information about proposed or adopted rules relating to the aging population, and submit a report to the legislature with recommendations before each legislative session. The bill also establishes the Chris Kyker Endowment for Seniors Fund to finance a contract between HHSC and an entity to study aging-related issues and develop and recommend solutions to those problems.  Our president-elect of the UWT board, Jim Hine, has been working especially hard with help from UWT President and CEO Karen Johnson to pass this important legislation and illuminate how important senior issues are, especially in the light of the rapidly increasing number of aging Texans.  We are excited to report that this legislation is moving right along and we hope that it will pass successfully.

The second piece of innovative legislation is HB 4145, authored by Representative Patrick Rose.  The bill would establish pilot programs through Health and Human Services to determine if a volunteer advocate program for the elderly would be good for Texas without duplicating existing services.  The bill is also making considerable progress through the legislative process.

UWT will update you about this and other important legislation related to aging as we move forward into the remainder of the session.