T.O. resident takes senior issues to Sacramento
By Heather Milo
Acorn Staff Writer

June Glasmeier

Taking an active role in the development of senior issues is Thousand Oaks resident June Glasmeier, who is a senior assembly member in the California Senior Legislature (CSL).

She will be attending the 23rd annual legislative session in Sacramento in October.

CSL is a nonpartisan body of volunteers made up of 40 senior senators and 80 senior assembly members 60 years of age and older. Members are elected by their peers in even numbered years and represent seniors in the 33 Area Agency on Aging locations throughout California.

The first CSL annual legislative session was assembled in 1981. Since its inception, the CSL has had better than 70 percent of its priority proposals being passed into law. Some of the legislation that has been adopted includes nursing home reform, adult day health care, transportation for the frail elderly and legislation on Alzheimer’s disease and elder abuse.

There will be 120 assemblypersons attending the October session in Sacramento. The CSL holds a legislative session in the chambers and hearing rooms of the state capitol where members present and hear testimony, debate issues, and vote to approve or not approve the senior members’ various proposals. Every two years the CSL works on bylaw changes.

Members get together to prioritize issues, and then take the top ten issues and try to move them through the state legislature. The CSL finds a legislature member to endorse an issue and to move it to the legal department, then the senior legislature lobbies to get it pushed through the two houses of the legislature.

The CSL consists of two committees: the Joint Rules Committee, which has 11 members, and the Legislature Committee, which has 11 members and does only lobbying. The Joint Rules Committee has full authority over the California Senior Legislature.

All committee members have alternates. On the Joint Rules Committee, one member resigned, and Glasmeier took his place as his alternate. Since assuming the role in 2002, she has traveled to Sacramento on a monthly basis.

Top issues for the seniors include Medicare and health coverage, identity theft, transportation, rising living costs, housing, and income.

In one instance, CSL has worked on a bill to increase the homestead exemption for seniors who own their homes, with the overall effect of reducing their taxes. There is also a bill to reduce the fee for a driver’s license, and a bill to make it mandatory that every nursing home have a defribulator.

CSL is supported by the "California Fund for Senior Citizens," and sponsored by the California Commission on Aging. It is funded entirely through the voluntary "contributions" column of the State Income Tax Form, where taxpayers may check off any full dollar amount as a gift to the California Fund for Senior Citizens (Line 54). It can also receive direct contributions to its off-tax-season fund, the California Foundation on Aging.

All contributions to this fund are tax deductible.

Glasmeier invites people to help California’s more than 5 million senior citizens by contributing to the "California Fund for Senior Citizens," Line 54 on their state income tax form. "These contributions will support the volunteer, non-partisan California Senior Legislature and benefit local services to the elderly," she stated.

Tax-deductible donations also may be made by sending checks payable to the CFOA/CSL, P.O. Box 660951, Sacramento, CA, 95866. Non-profit/non-partisan, the Foundation’s tax exempt number is ID #77-0187875.

This is Glasmeier’s first year in the legislature and she has one year to go before filling out her term.

"I’m really enjoying it," she said. In Ventura County, there is one senior senator, and two assemblypersons for the senior legislature.

Glasmeier is trying to bring awareness to east Ventura County that the senior assembly exists. There are 13 senior centers in Ventura County and Glasmeier wants to make it a point to visit them all.