The most pressing legislative issue for South Carolina seniors is the creation of a volunteer ombudsman program to improve inspections of long-term care facilities, the Silver Haired Legislature agreed last week.

At the end of three days of speeches and debates, the Silver Haired lawmakers came up with five top priorities for next year's General Assembly -- that is, the state's real lawmakers.

Their top five are:

• Creation of the ombudsman program. Silver Haired Speaker Tom Lloyd said the state has 13 paid inspectors in the Department of Health and Human Services' State Long Term Care Ombudsman Program. But there are more than 4,500 facilities

Lloyd said North Carolina has 1,500 volunteer ombudsmen.

• Criminal background checks for adult day care providers. This would apply to both in-home care and off-site day care for adults. Lloyd said the Silver Haired Legislature last year pushed for background checks on nursing home employees.

• A statewide in-home respite program that provides seniors assistance in daily living. This could include, Lloyd said, simple tasks like combing hair or housecleaning.

• More help for abused seniors. This could mean more shelters or improvements to existing shelters and money to help abused seniors relocate or replace clothes and other personal items that might have been left behind.

• Scrapping the state's flat $300 sales tax on automobiles. The state should instead levy a 2 percent sales tax on all vehicles. The $300 cap is among the lowest in the nation and is the same no matter the cost of the car.

The Silver Haired Legislature was created by state law and charged with setting priorities for legislation affecting seniors. It will submit proposals to the General Assembly and the governor in December.

The group began the week with 15 proposals and through debate settled on the top five.

Among those that were rejected was a proposal to raise the cigarette tax. Lloyd said the group decided the tobacco tax would affect only one group of South Carolinians and would not be a stable funding source for the state's Medicaid program.

Gov. Mark Sanford spoke to the 74 members on Wednesday. The governor told them to consider the state's $350 million budget hole when crafting their proposals.

State lawmakers are not required to honor or follow the Silver Haired Legislature's proposals, but seniors make up a large and vocal constituency and often carry significant legislative influence.