CAPITOL WATCH: Silver-Haired Legislators Take a Stand for Seniors (Sept. 2002).
By Cadien Clark

If you see a group of elderly Texans walking around the Capitol, be informed: they may not be tourists visiting from Fredericksburg, but elected members of the Texas Silver-Haired Legislature in town for their week-long legislative session.

The group gathers in the House Chamber to propose, debate and adopt resolutions for presentation to the Texas Legislature, before resuming its advocacy role during the upcoming 78th session.

Texas' state government set up the TSHL to represent the elderly. Members are elected by senior citizens across the state, but they are not compensated with state funds. All 116 individuals spend their own money, and donations are the group's sole source of income.

Carlos Higgins, representative from the TSHL's District 1, which encompasses the north half of Travis County and all of Williamson County, says that much of the important legislation affecting seniors materializes at the federal level, but, Higgins says, "the group is trying to exert whatever influence we can in Texas."

Higgins predicts that they will be dealing with "the usual suspects" this year - the cost of prescription drugs and high property taxes - but will also be delving into other important issues like the potential integration of the Texas Department on Aging with another departmental entity.

"There is already only one small state agency focused solely on senior issues," says Higgins. He says he feels that the importance of a monolithic bureau, concentrating all of its energy on seniors, has to do with the need for a different approach on issues facing the elderly.

"There is a different mindset involved. Seniors are less able to fend for themselves and less inclined to seek help," Higgins says.

He points to an increase in the needs allowance for seniors on Medicaid in nursing homes as a success that the group's lobbying helped solidify.

"This group has the potential to bring the wisdom of experienced Texans to bear on extremely important policy issues affecting vulnerable populations, which could really make a difference in the lives of those in desperate need of an advocate," says Reggie James, director of Consumers Union's Southwest Regional Office.

Higgins also cites seeking greater protection for seniors from fraud, scams, nursing home abuse, and family abuse as long-term goals of the TSHL. The organization believes that legislation fostering independent lifestyles, enabling the elderly to remain in their own homes and still receive assistance, should be a prime consideration in the health-care decisions made by the government. They will also continue to lobby for affordable healthcare and prescription drug coverage; the two issues Higgins names as the most crucial facing the elderly.

"Dollars are precious to these folks," says Higgins, "and [seniors] can't just come speak for themselves. We are doing the best we can to speak for them," says Higgins.