When senior citizens talk, smart politicians listen.
That’s the idea behind the Silver Haired Legislature, a group of
South Carolina seniors who held their annual meeting at the State
House last week.
The group, now in its seventh year, is part of a national
organization that proposes legislation on the state level on behalf
of fellow seniors.
South Carolina is home to 650,000 residents age 65 and older.
That’s expected to grow to more than 1 million in the next decade,
largely because of a projected influx of retirees moving to the
state.
That’s important to lawmakers because older people typically cast
ballots at a higher rate than do younger residents.
Members heard this week from Gov. Mark Sanford, Lt. Gov. Andre
Bauer, House Speaker Bobby Harrell, R-Charleston, and others.
They also shared their platform of 14 legislative items they want
the General Assembly to consider when it reconvenes in January.
The top issue this year: expanded public transportation for
seniors.
“There are many seniors who have no way to get to the pharmacy to
pick up prescriptions or get to the grocery store,” said Tom Lloyd,
speaker of the Silver Haired Legislature.
The group successfully pushed through several ideas last year,
Lloyd said, including adding ombudsmen to handle complaints about
state nursing homes.
The group’s other top issues this year, in order of
importance:
• More extensive criminal
background checks for workers at the state’s adult day-care
facilities and in-home care services. Currently, workers undergo a
SLED check, but that only includes in-state offenses.
• More affordable prescription
drugs for low-income seniors
• Increased state funding for
in-home and community-based senior services
• Better services for abused
seniors who are removed from their residences
Reach Stensland at (803) 771-8358 or jstensland@thestate.com
