Senior legal services.

Existing law requires the California Department of Aging to establish a task force of certain members to study and make recommendations to the Legislature on the improvement of legal services delivery to senior citizens in California by exploring specified matters, including ways to ensure uniformity in the provision of legal services throughout the state and the possible establishment of a statewide legal hotline for seniors. Existing law requires the task force to report and make its recommendations to the Legislature on or before September 1, 2002. This bill would require the department to establish a similar task force or to utilize an existing subcommittee, working group, task force, or committee to assess the implementation of the recommendations made pursuant to the above-mentioned provisions, make additional recommendations by exploring the same matters explored by the initial task force, and to report the assessment and make its recommendations to the Legislature on or before September 1, 2026, either in a separate report or as part of an existing report. If the department creates a task force, the bill would require the director of the department to service on or appoint a representative, and would require the task force to include a broad array or state agencies and stakeholder organizations with resources and expertise related to elder justice initiative and legal services for older adults.