Texas Silver-Haired Legislature brings seniors' needs to lawmakers' attention | Grumet

It was a Friday evening in December when Cindy Jones found her mother in a severely dehydrated condition at her nursing home.

Jones called the state hotline for reporting abuse or neglect in a senior care facility — only to get an after-hours recording. Live operators are available from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays. Outside those hours, callers can leave a message and wait for a response on the next business day.

Among all the things running through Jones’ mind in that moment, the Mason resident wondered: “How do you have a hotline and not staff it” around the clock?

Jones brought the issue to this week’s biennial gathering of the Texas Silver-Haired Legislature, a state-created body of people aged 60 and over who research issues and send proposals to the Texas Legislature. Her proposal to require 24/7 staffing of the Health and Human Services’ complaint hotline for senior care facilities earned the blessing of the Retirement & Aging Committee.

“The urgency of care seems to be vanishing out of all of our senior services,” committee chair Dan Roberts of Mineral Wells lamented.

Which makes the work of the Texas Silver-Haired Legislature all the more important. Dozens of members research a wide array of issues — from medical marijuana to state pensions to staffing levels at assisted living facilities — and then debate potential solutions. By the time members adjourn Thursday from the Texas Capitol complex, they will be primed to advocate for their top priorities in the next legislative session.

Since its creation in 1985, the Texas Silver-Haired Legislature has influenced the passage of more than 250 bills, including achieving their top priority last session, increasing the personal needs allowance for nursing home residents. Members are elected to two-year terms by their peers in the Area Agencies on Aging districts around the state.

Crucially, the group’s work is rooted in issues faced by regular Texans who deserve to have someone lobbying for their interests. Listen to the presentations at the Texas Silver-Haired Legislature, and you’ll find problems and solutions animated by lived experience.

Charles Isaac of Carrizo Springs opened his box of 14 prescription medications, then demonstrated how an app on his phone can scan the code on a bottle and tell him which medication it is — a feature he argued all pharmacies should provide for patients who are visually impaired or have difficulty reading the tiny print on prescription bottles.

Ira Wilsker, a retired sheriff’s deputy from Beaumont, championed a resolution that would require law enforcement and judges to attend training on dealing with older victims of crime and would require officers to file a report whenever they respond to such a call, even if no arrest is made.

“If there’s a pattern of behavior or repeated calls, maybe there’s something going on there,” he said.

Sherry Hubbard, this year’s speaker of the Texas Silver-Haired Legislature, saw alarming reports on the news about squatters moving into unattended homes around the state, including some cases in which the homeowner was temporarily away at a hospital or a recovery facility. Sometimes officers point homeowners to the civil courts to oust squatters, which can be costly and time-consuming.

“Don’t put it on the senior who’s going, ‘Where do I go?’” said Hubbard, of Junction, calling for a change in state law so squatters can be arrested and face jail time. (Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick also flagged this issue last month for study before lawmakers return for next year’s session.)

And, in some cases, members aimed to promote common sense and compassion.

Wilsker described going to the tax assessor-collector’s office near Beaumont last summer, still wearing a clunky body brace from his recent back surgery, to get disabled license plates for his car. He was stunned when the staff told him he had to go into the parking lot and remove his old license plates himself — a demanding task in his condition.

“I said, ‘I’ve got a back brace on,’” recounted Wilsker. “She said, ‘I’ll give you a screwdriver.’”

Wilsker said it took him about a half-hour to remove the old plates, a task that would take an able-bodied person a minute or two. He supported a resolution that would require government workers in customer service roles to undergo training on dealing with seniors and those with disabilities.

If you wouldn’t benefit from that now, chances are you someday will — making the work of the Texas Silver-Haired Legislature a mission for all Texans.

Grumet is the Statesman’s Metro columnist. Her column, ATX in Context, contains her opinions. Share yours via email at bgrumet@statesman.com or on X at @bgrumet. Find her previous work at statesman.com/opinion/columns.