SENIOR SENATE PROPOSAL NO. 10

INTRODUCED BY SENIOR SENATOR KIM-SELBY

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SP 10: SENIOR VOLUNTEERS.

EXISTING LAW, THE MELLO-GRANLUND OLDER CALIFORNIANS ACT, REFLECTS THE POLICY MANDATES AND DIRECTIVES OF THE FEDERAL OLDER AMERICANS ACT OF 1965, AS AMENDED, AND SETS FORTH THIS STATE’S COMMITMENT TO ITS OLDER POPULATION AND OTHER POPULATIONS SERVED BY THE PROGRAMS ADMINISTERED BY THE CALIFORNIA DEPARTMENT OF AGING.

THIS MEASURE WOULD MEMORIALIZE THE LEGISLATURE AND THE GOVERNOR TO ENACT LEGISLATION THAT WOULD PROCLAIM THE MONTH OF MAY TO BE “SENIOR VOLUNTEER MONTH” TO HONOR THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF SENIOR VOLUNTEERS.

VOTE: MAJORITY

SP 10: RELATING TO SENIOR VOLUNTEERS

WHEREAS, EACH MAY, AMERICANS OBSERVE OLDER AMERICANS MONTH AND CELEBRATE THE ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF OLDER AMERICANS; AND

WHEREAS, LOCAL GOVERNMENTS HAVE PROCLAIMED MAY AS THE OLDER AMERICANS MONTH; AND

WHEREAS, SENIOR VOLUNTEERS SERVE CONGREGATE AND HOME DELIVERED MEALS, ENGAGE IN ASSISTED SENIOR CENTER ACTIVITIES, AND PREVENTION OF ELDER ABUSE, AND PROVIDE HEALTH CARE COUNSELING, LEGAL ASSISTANCE, AND TRANSPORTATION; AND WHEREAS,

VOLUNTEER WORK IS PERFORMED FOR ALZHEIMER’S PATIENTS, GRANDCHILDREN, COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS, SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, HOSPITALS, AND MANY OTHER NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS; AND WHEREAS,

A NATIONAL SURVEY IN 1999 SHOWED SENIOR CITIZENS’ VOLUNTEER WORK HOURS TOTALED APPROXIMATELY 5 BILLION HOURS A YEAR AND WAS VALUED AT 71.2 BILLION DOLLARS; 42 PERCENT OF SENIORS REPORTED VOLUNTEERING IN NEIGHBORHOODS, 54 PERCENT OF SENIOR VOLUNTEERS WERE EITHER FULL- OR PART-TIME EMPLOYED, AND 51 PERCENT OF RETIRED SENIORS VOLUNTEERED FOUR OR MORE HOURS WEEKLY, WITH 81 PERCENT OF THOSE OVER 75 YEARS OF AGE VOLUNTEERING WHEN ASKED; AND

WHEREAS, MANY LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS, AND SENIOR CENTERS RECOGNIZE SENIOR VOLUNTEERS ONCE A YEAR BY PROVIDING HONORARY CERTIFICATES; AND

WHEREAS, SO MANY SENIOR VOLUNTEERS ARE IN BETTER HEALTH AND LIVE LONGER DUE TO MEDICAL SCIENCE ADVANCEMENTS, AND A MAJOR MOTIVATION FOR SENIOR VOLUNTEERS IS THEIR DESIRE TO GIVE BACK TO SOCIETY FINANCIALLY OR SOCIALLY; AND

WHEREAS, THE 2005 WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON AGING RESOLVED TO “DEVELOP A NATIONAL STRATEGY FOR PROMOTING NEW AND MEANINGFUL VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES AND CIVIL ENGAGEMENTS FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE SENIORS” BECAUSE VOLUNTEERISM IS VERY IMPORTANT TO THE FABRIC OF AMERICAN SOCIETY; AND WHEREAS,

THE 2005 WHITE HOUSE CONFERENCE ON AGING RESOLVED TO “REAUTHORIZE THE NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY SERVICE ACT TO EXPAND OPPORTUNITIES FOR VOLUNTEER AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT ACTIVITIES”; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT

RESOLVED, BY THE SENIOR SENATE AND THE SENIOR ASSEMBLY, JOINTLY, THAT THE SENIOR LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA AT ITS 2006 REGULAR SESSION, A MAJORITY OF THE MEMBERS VOTING THEREFOR, HEREBY PROPOSES THAT THE MONTH OF MAY BE PROCLAIMED “SENIOR VOLUNTEER MONTH” TO HONOR THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF SENIOR VOLUNTEERS; AND BE IT FURTHER

RESOLVED, THAT THE SENIOR LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA RESPECTFULLY MEMORIALIZES THE LEGISLATURE AND THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA TO ENACT APPROPRIATE LEGISLATION THAT WOULD ADDRESS THE CONCERNS SET FORTH IN THIS MEASURE; AND BE IT FURTHER

RESOLVED, THAT A COPY OF THIS MEASURE BE TRANSMITTED TO THE SPEAKER OF THE ASSEMBLY, THE PRESIDENT PRO TEMPORE OF THE SENATE, AND THE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA.

RN20061907608

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