HARRISBURG — Two legislative proposals, one designed to protect senior citizens from scams and the other mandating training on protective services casework for Area Agency on Aging employees, passed the Pennsylvania Senate on Wednesday.
State senators voted 47-2 to approve Senate Bill 738 and send it to the House for further consideration.
The bill proposes to amend Pennsylvania’s Older Adult Protective Services Act to thwart financial fraud against seniors.
Sen. Chris Gebhard, R-Berks/Lancaster/Lebanon, introduced the measure. During floor remarks ahead of the vote, he cited data that found Pennsylvania has the 9th most instances of fraud committed against senior citizens.
“More than 7,000 seniors were defrauded of more than $200 million last year,” Gebhard said.
Gebhard’s bill would empower financial institutions to respond to suspected fraud.
Banks and the like would be authorized, or required in certain instances, to freeze or deny sketchy transactions — for example, if a senior fell for a phone scam demanding money — and report suspicions to law enforcement, an Area Agency on Aging or the state Department of Aging. Notification for disputed transactions must be made to all authorized persons on the account.
Records related to a disputed transaction would be shared with local agencies for further investigation while maintaining confidentiality. The Department of Aging would be required to develop a training regimen for financial institution employees to identify suspected scams, and would be required to create a public report annually summarizing exploitation attempts and enforcement.
Sen. Sharif Street, D-Philadelphia, said in support of the bill that he and many other lawmakers receive multiple reports from constituents about senior citizens being scammed.
“We’ve got to advance our law in order to make sure we create the tools for financial institutions and the commonwealth to stand behind our seniors and protect them,” Street said.
Senate Bill 1376 was approved and advanced to the state House by a 33-16 vote. Six Democrats joined all Senate Republicans in support.
The bill proposes to amend Pennsylvania’s Administrative Code to mandate that the Department of Aging train its employees in older adult protective services and provide certain oversight and evaluation.
Citing investigative reports by Spotlight PA, Coleman chided the department and the administration of Gov. Josh Shapiro for revisions to compliance standards that he says created faults in protective services casework. Coleman said nearly 3,000 senior citizens died while an investigation into suspected abuse or neglect was either active or pending, a reference to Spotlight PA’s work.
Coleman’s bill would require all employees of Area Agencies on Aging across Pennsylvania to undergo training on casework, investigation and intake for protective services. An evaluation framework would be created to track agencies’ responses to suspected abuse and neglect, and the Office of the Auditor General would be tasked with auditing each agency at least once every two years. Corrective measures are proposed for any agencies found in non-compliance.
“We need to fill the cracks in the protective services system through which too many of our older Pennsylvanians are falling,” Coleman said.
Sen. Jay Costa, D-Allegheny, the Senate Democratic leader, said senior citizens must be protected, noting his caucus’s support for Gebhard’s bill regarding financial fraud against seniors.
However, Costa said provisions of Coleman’s bill conflict with existing federal compliance standards and that both the Department of Aging and the Shapiro administration have serious concerns with the proposal in its current form. He said it also lacks financial support for the department to carry out the directives.
“This is what we call an unfunded mandate to the department,” Costa said.
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