California Commission on Aging.

Existing law, the Mello-Granlund Older Californians Act, establishes the California Commission on Aging, comprised of 25 members, appointed as specified, including 19 members appointed by the Governor. Existing law requires the commission to be comprised of actual consumers of services provided under the federal Older Americans Act. Under existing law, the commission's mission is, among other things, to serve as the principal advocate body in the state on behalf of older individuals, to participate with and advise the California Department of Aging in various ways relating to the State Plan on Aging, and to develop a method for the selection of delegates to the statewide legislative meeting of senior advocates. Existing law sets forth the duties and powers of the commission, including participating with the department in training workshops for community, regional, and statewide senior advocates, to help older individuals to understand legislative, regulatory, and program implementation processes, and meeting at least 6 times annually in order to study problems of older individuals and present findings and make recommendations. This bill would reduce the number of members of the commission to 18, and require 12 members to be appointed by the Governor, with at least 2 appointed from a list of nominees submitted by, among others, area agency on aging directors and the Area Agency on Aging Advisory Council of California. The bill would require the members of the commission be comprised of consumers and providers of services under the federal Older Americans Act, instead of just consumers, who have professional, lived, or academic expertise both within and outside of the field of aging, in specified areas, including health, behavioral health, and housing. The bill would clarify that the commission is an "advisory commission" as described by the Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act, and is therefore subject to applicable teleconferencing provisions. The bill would revise the existing duties and purpose of the commission by removing the requirement that the commission develop a method for the selection of delegates to the statewide legislative meeting of senior advocates. The bill would also revise the duties of the commission to require, among other things, the commission's advisory participation in consideration of initiatives for programs and services affecting older adults, adults with disabilities, and caregivers, as well as to monitor and, when deemed appropriate, engage in federal advocacy efforts on, among others, federal rulemaking packages affecting older adults, adults with disabilities, and caregivers. The bill would also reduce the annual meetings of the commission from 6 to 4.