California Senate Launches Aging and Long-Term Care Committee

The California Senate has launched a new five-member Select Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care, HealthyCal reports.

Background

California has the largest population of residents over age 65 in the U.S., according to HealthyCal. Further, about one in five Californians by 2030 is expected to be age 65 or older.

The state Assembly has a committee dedicated to aging and long-term care issues, but a similar Senate committee was disbanded in 2012.

Details of Committee

The new Senate committee will be chaired by Sen. Carol Liu (D-Glendale), who pushed to create the panel.

According to HealthyCal, the committee will focus on addressing:

• Dementia;
• Elder justice;
• Housing;
• Mental health; and
• Transportation.

Liu said her goals for the committee include:

• Streamlining California's long-term care systems;
• Educating the public about issues related to the state's aging services; and
• Creating programs to address California's diverse aging population. 

A joint hearing of the new committee and the Assembly's Aging and Long-Term Care Committee will be held on Aug. 12 (Perry, HealthyCal, 7/15).