PUBLIC POLICY
rently introduced across the country, there is expected to be some change on minimum wage laws. States such as Virginia, New Mex- ico, Connecticut, and Illinois have legislation proposing to increase the minimum wage.
Advocates Argentum For You
Only two months into 2017, there are al- ready legislative trends making their way through various state legislatures. With 48 states in session, the Argentum public pol- icy team is seeing an influx of legislation that has a heavy impact on not just senior living providers but aging Americans as well. With the election year over, states are now empowered to create some changes with new leadership. Results of the election last November mean that Republicans now control 66 of 98 partisan state legislatures while Democrats control only 30.
Trending legislative measures include: Elder Abuse: Protecting elders from abuse is a trend that started to percolate last year and has become a legislative initiative for most states. Unfortunately seniors become a target for financial abuse from family, friends and even strangers. States such as Virginia, New Jersey, and Illinois have introduced bills that create awareness of this issue as well a proposal on elder abuse reporting processes.
End of Life: The discussion of providing ter- minally ill individuals the option to end their life has expanded across the country. In 2016, Colorado became the sixth state to legalize assisted death and was modeled after Oregon’s law. In states such as Maryland, New Mexico, and Maine, legislation has been introduced to allow a terminally ill individual to request aid in dying with specified requests.
Minimum Wage: The topic of minimum wage has sparked an increasing concern for business owners and lawmakers. The major- ity of state legislatures are taking a proactive approach to addressing the minimum wage issue in their states. With over 30 bills cur-
40 SENIOR LIVING EXECUTIVE / ISSUE 1 2017
Marijuana: Last year, voters in many states were faced with the initiative to reform marijuana laws. In California, the majority of voters approved the use of recreational marijuana making them the state with the largest commercial marijuana market in the U.S. Florida, Arkansas, and North Dakota voters approved to legalize the use of med- ical marijuana. Massachusetts also voted for recreational marijuana use, extending the legalized marijuana market from coast to coast, while Nevada became the third state to approve a recreational cannabis law,
2017 Governors
Republican Democratic
WA MT OR NV CA AZ ID WY UT CO NM TX AK HI
ND SD NE
KS OK MN IA IL
MO AR
LA TN MI AL GA FL WI NY MI
IN WV KY
OH
VA PA
NC SC
VT NH MA CT RI NJ DE MD
GU PR VI AS
ME
making the west an even stronger region for selling marijuana. Arizona was the first state to vote against its marijuana measure that proposed the legalization of recreational use. Florida has a bill called the “Florida Medical Marijuana Act” which would allow a qualifying patient or his or her caregiver to purchase, acquire, and possess up to the al- lowed amount of marijuana for a qualifying patient’s medical use. Each year thousands of bills are intro-
duced at the state level and while many gain traction throughout the legislature, only some will actually pass and get signed into law. To keep track of the legislative and regulatory movement in each state, please visit
www.argentum.org or contact Alexis de Armas at
adearmas@argentum.org with any questions.
2017 State Legislatures
Republican Democratic Split
WA MT OR NV CA AZ NM TX AK HI ID WY UT CO
ND SD NE
KS OK MN IA IL
MO AR
LA TN MI AL GA FL WI NY MI
IN WV KY
OH
VA PA
NC SC
VT NH MA CT RI NJ DE MD
ME
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