Establishes an elder financial exploitation public awareness campaign

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Judy Griffin and 6 co-sponsors

Creates a statewide public awareness campaign on elder financial exploitation to educate the public, prevent abuse, and improve reporting and intervention.

REFERRED TO RULES

Purpose and Intent

A 8447 would establish a statewide public awareness campaign focused on elder financial exploitation. The bill aims to educate older adults, their families and caregivers, and the broader community about the risks, signs, prevention, and reporting of financial abuse targeting seniors. By increasing visibility and knowledge, the measure seeks to reduce incidents of exploitation and improve timely reporting and intervention.

Key Provisions

Public Awareness Campaign: Creates a statewide initiative to raise awareness about elder financial exploitation, including information on how to recognize warning signs and how to respond.

Educational Materials and Outreach: Requires development and dissemination of materials (print, online, and multimedia) and the use of community events, social media, and multilingual resources to reach diverse populations.

Target Audiences: Focuses on older adults, caregivers, family members, financial institutions, professionals (e.g., banking staff, healthcare providers), and service organizations.

Coordination and Partnerships: Encourages collaboration among relevant state entities and stakeholders, potentially including aging services, consumer protection or financial oversight agencies, law enforcement, and financial institutions.

Reporting and Reporting Mechanisms: Provides information on how to report suspected elder financial exploitation to appropriate authorities and supports streamlined protocols for reporting and response.

Evaluation Metrics: Requires collection of data on campaign reach and impact (e.g., materials distributed, trainings conducted, and possibly feedback from participants) to assess effectiveness.

Funding: May authorize state funds for program implementation, coordination, and evaluation, subject to the annual budget process and appropriations (exact amounts to be determined in the enacted version).

Affected Stakeholders

Older adults and their families/caregivers

Financial institutions and banking staff

Aging services and community-based organizations

Law enforcement and district attorney offices

State agencies responsible for aging, consumer protection, and financial oversight

General public through outreach initiatives

Legislative Status and Timeline

Introduced: May 16, 2025

Committee and action history in the Assembly includes referrals to Aging and Ways and Means, with actions culminating in a passage by the Assembly on June 9, 2025.

After Assembly passage, the bill was delivered to the Senate and referred to Rules; companion legislation exists in the Senate as S 8072.

The bill is currently in the Rules process in the Senate, with related companion activity noted.

Potential Impact

If enacted, the bill would formalize a statewide public education and outreach effort on elder financial exploitation, potentially improving detection, reporting, and prevention. It could entail new or redirected funding for aging and consumer protection programs and require ongoing evaluation to measure effectiveness. Final details, including funding levels and specific implementation steps, will be shaped by the enacted version and the companion Senate bill.

Bill