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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 17, 2005
For More Information, Contact:
Paige Schoknecht at (650) 688-6384

SIMITIAN SCORES 100% WITH SENIORS


PALO ALTO – The Congress of California Seniors and the California Alliance for Retired Americans (CARA) released their annual legislative scorecards, giving State Senator Joe Simitian (D-Palo Alto) a 100% voting record on legislation supporting seniors.
“I am honored to be recognized in this way,” Simitian said, adding that “Senior interests cut across a range of issues – everything from health care to finances to personal safety.”
The Congress of California Seniors and CARA used Simitian’s SB 1018, also known as the Financial Elder Abuse Reporting Act of 2005, to grade legislators on their scorecards.  Signed by the Governor on August 29, 2005,

SB 1018 protects elders by making bank, savings and loan, and credit union employees mandated reporters of elder financial abuse.  It requires that bank employees who suspect elder financial abuse immediately notify law enforcement authorities or Adult Protective Services (APS), which investigates reports of elder abuse. 
Simitian, former Chair of the State Assembly’s Select Committee on Elder Abuse, is also the author of AB 2611, a state law toughening penalties for physical abuse of seniors and dependent adults.  He began his work on issues of financial elder abuse during his tenure on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors.

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