This is the first of six in a series describing the focus of the N.C. Senior Tar Heel Legislature leading up to the 2023 legislative session of the N.C. General Assembly.
By Allison Brown
Contributing Writer
The N.C. Senior Tar Heel Legislature operates within a two-year legislative cycle, mirroring the work of the General Assembly. It’s the summer of an even-numbered year, and members are focused on a complex but choreographed process.
The goal of the process is to recommend to the General Assembly enactment of legislative measures that will ensure the quality of life available to older adults across the state when it convenes in the 2023 long session.
For Senior Tar Heel Legislature members, the winter and spring were spent studying the most pressing challenges facing older adults, considering information and data from the state’s aging experts, and deliberating impacts and solutions.
In June and July, members submitted their ideas for legislation that could serve to enhance the lives of older adults. The Resolutions Standing Committee has received the ideas and is working to sort them into one of the six categories of the Issues Committees.
Between now and October, each Issues Committee will convene to discuss, debate and distill the ideas assigned to them into three proposals for a total of 18 possible proposals. Then each member will deliberate the merits and impact of the proposals.
At the October General Session, the Senior Tar Heel Legislature will vote as a body to approve the top three to five proposals as its legislative priorities for consideration by the General Assembly in 2023.
The Issues Committees are tasked with the important work of distilling the many ideas from the Senior Tar Heel Legislature members into proposals that protect and empower state seniors.
Rosalyn Pettyford, Durham County, is the chair of the Crime/Safety/Security Issues Committee, which focuses on physical, emotional and financial threats faced by older adults.
Former speaker the Rev. Dwight Cartner, Davidson County, is the chair of the Enrichment Opportunities Issues Committee, which addresses gaps faced by older adults who seek local enrichment activities such as education, exercise, well-being, and socialization outlets.
Kaye White, Dare County, chairs the General Legislation Issues Committee, which pinpoints issues that do not fall into the other Issues Committee categories, but which are critically important. Topics might include livable communities, work skills development, financial education, veterans, and technology, among others.
The chair of the Health Issues Committee guides the team to identify challenges faced by older adults with respect to all aspects of health care, ranging from Medicaid expansion to the need for doctors and nurses specializing in geriatric fields, and programs that advance coverage for social determinants of health, such as Home and Community-Based Block Grant services.
Bill Lamb, Wake County, chairs the Long-Term Care Issues Committee, which addresses shortcomings in both the institutional and private setting of long-term care, including resident-to-staff ratios in assisted living and skilled nursing facilities and upholding resident’s rights.
Gayla Woody, Gaston County, is assigned to chair the Service Access Issues Committee, which detects obstacles that stand in the way of older adults who need to access supportive services such as broadband, telehealth and addressing the digital divide.
The Senior Tar Heel Legislature’s speaker, Norma Duncan, Mitchell County, said, “We are facing many challenges as we strive to meet the needs and demands of a rapidly growing aging population. North Carolina ranks ninth in the nation of age 60-plus population and unfortunately, we have gaps in our safety nets. There are 11,000 older adults on waiting lists for home-based services that would help them remain active, independent and healthy. The chairs of our Issues Committees are strong advocates and eager to establish legislative priorities that ensure North Carolina’s older adults can age with dignity and respect.”
The Senior Tar Heel Legislature is comprised of volunteer delegates and alternates representing each of the state’s 100 counties, supported by the area agencies on aging serving the state’s 16 service areas.
For details, visit www.ncseniortarheellegislature.org. To contact your local Senior Tar Heel Legislature member, email katbrown1029@gmail.com.
Allison Brown is chair of the N.C. Senior Tar Heel Legislature Public Relations Committee.