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THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FriDAy, NOVEmbEr 14, 2025 Page 17 Beacon Hill Roll Call Volume 50 -Report No.45 November 3-7, 2025 Copyright © 2025 Beacon Hill Roll Call. All Rights Reserved. By Bob Katzen T HE HOUSE AND SENATE: Beacon Hill Roll Call records local representatives’ and senators’ votes on roll calls from the week of November 3-7. CHANGE ARCHAIC LANGUAGE REFERRING TO PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES (H 4704) House 152-0, approved and sent to the Senate a bill that would modernize and remove archaic language in state laws to refl ect the evolution of terminology relating to persons with disabilities. The Senate has already approved a diff erent version of the measure, and the House version now goes to the Senate for consideration. Changes include replacing “handicapped persons” with “persons with disabilities;” replacing “the mentally retarded” with “persons with an intellectual disability;” replacing “retarded children” with “children with an intellectual disability;” and replacing “disabled American veterans” with “American veterans with disabilities.” “As lawmakers, we know that words matter,” said Speaker of the House Ron Mariano (D-Quincy). “This legislation is our latest eff ort to ensure that our state laws do not use antiquated words that carry negative connotations, words that also serve as a reminder of past injustices.” “Removing out-of-date and offensive language from the Massachusetts General Laws to describe people with disabilities is an important step in ensuring that our values are also refl ected in our statutes,” said Rep. Jay Livingstone (D-Boston), House Chair of the Committee on Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities. “As legislators, it is our job to help make sure that people with intellectual or developmental disabilities feel included, accepted and embraced for who they are, and this is an important step in doing so.” (A “Yes” vote is for the bill.) Rep. Jessica Giannino Yes Rep. Donald Wong Yes HOME CARE (H 4706) House 153-1, approved and sent to the Senate a bill that would establish a licensure process for home care agencies that supporters say will ensure that consumers receive quality non-medical services, and that home care workers are protected. The Executive Offi ce of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) would implement the licensure process and have the authority to approve licenses, survey and investigate home care agencies and impose fi nes. The measure also would require EOHHS to conduct a suitability review for all licensure applicants, including for all individuals with at least a 5 percent ownership interest in the agency; review applicants to ensure that they have suffi cient fi nancial capacity to provide a minimum standard of care; and require EOHHS to publish a list of all licensed home care agencies on its website. Other provisions require minimum standards for home care workers by mandating several background screening checks on them; training and competency requirements for home care workers including confi - dentiality and privacy rights of home care consumers; infection control and communicable diseases; handling of emergencies, including safety and falls prevention; identifying and reporting suspected abuse, neglect or theft; and understanding Alzheimer’s disease and dementia, including person-centered care, activities of daily living, safety and dementia-related behaviors and communication. The legislation implements workforce protections for employees including establishing procedures to ensure home care workers have safe working conditions, adequate training and a process for submitting complaints; requiring licensed home care agencies to have coverage for worker’s compensation and liability insurance; creation of the Home Care Worker and Consumer Abuse Stakeholder Advisory Committee to study and make recommendations on standards and procedures for addressing abusive treatment, including physical, verbal, mental abuse and bullying of home care workers, personal care assistants, home care consumers and family members; and informing home care workers of potentially unsafe working environments. “This legislation could not have been passed at a more critical time,” said Rep. Tom Stanley (D-Waltham), House Chair of the Committee on Aging and Independence. “With our aging population expected to grow exponentially in the coming years and the number of family caregivers shrinking, the demand for home care will subsequently increase. It is critical for the commonwealth to have the proper standards and protections in place for home care agencies to ensure consumers receive quality care and our dedicated home care workers are properly trained and supported in the fi eld.” “With persistent staffing shortages and projections of growing need, urgent legislative action is needed to establish improved oversight over home care agency employers, better prepare to meet future care demands and to reduce the far-too-common abuse and workplace bullying of home care workers and/or their consumer clients,” said Cari Medina, Executive Vice President of 1199SEIU, the union which represents more than 60,000 home care worker members. “[We] strongly support this bill to establish a new state process for the licensure of Massachusetts home care agencies, to implement improved operational standards for these agencies and to direct the adoption of new minimum standards and operational procedures for addressing abusive treatment and bullying of home care workers and/or their consumers.” Betsey Crimmins, Executive Director of Mass Aging Access, said that Mass Aging Access and its statewide network of 24 Aging Services Access Points strongly support the bill. “Massachusetts does not license non-medical home care services, even though these services are essential to helping older adults and people with disabilities live safely and independently in their own homes, BEACON | SEE PAGE 18 Say nr Sa a y Senior Seni by Jim Miller How to Make a Home Safer and More Accessible as You Age Dear Savvy Senior, What simple tips can you recommend for making a home age friendly? My husband and I are in our late sixties and want to remain living in our home for as long as possible. Homebody Hanna Dear Hanna, Many older adults, like you and your husband, want to stay living in their own home for as long as possible. But being able to do so will depend on how easy it is to maneuver your living space as you get older. There are literally dozens of simple adjustments and modifi - cations you can do to help make your home safer and more accessible for aging-in-place. Here’s a summary of tips from the National Institute on Aging and AARP, which off ers a free roomby-room guide with practical suggestions for older adults living independently. ENTRANCE WAY: • Have at least one exterior doorway with step-free access. If that is not possible, consider a ramp. • Add a bench in the foyer to sit on when removing shoes or to set down items while locking or unlocking the door. BATHROOM: • Install a walk-in shower with a bench and nonskid decals or mats to prevent falls. • Add a hand-held nozzle to the shower head to facilitate rinsing off while seated. • Install grab bars on the shower wall and near the toilet • Put in a taller toilet or add a toiler riser. • Consider plugging in a nightlight. BEDROOM: • If stairs are too diffi cult to manage, create a bedroom on the main level by transforming a den or an offi ce. • Make sure the bed is easy to get in and out of. Purchase bed risers, if needed. • Invest in an adjustable bed for extra comfort. KITCHEN: • Purchase a stove with safety features that alert the resident when a burner is on or have automatic shutoff s. • Relocate major appliances to make them easier to reach. • Add slide-out drawers or trays to existing cabinets for better access. • Install a lever-style, light-touch or sensor faucet, which is easier to use than a faucet with turn-style knobs or handles. FURNITURE & RUGS: • Get rid of furniture and clutter to make rooms easier to move around in. • Use chairs with armrests, which makes sitting and standing easier. • Avoid furniture with sharp corners, which can cause bruises and cuts when bumped up against. • Hide cords out of pathways — but don’t put them under rugs. • Area rugs, if used, should be secured to the fl oor with a nonslip mat or anti-slip rug tape. For more tips, get a copy of AARP’s “HomeFit Guide” which is a 36-page fully illustrated guide and has more than 100 aging-inplace tips and suggestions that can be made to an existing house or apartment or incorporated into designs for a new residence. It explains how a smartly designed or modified home can meet the varied and changing needs of its older residents. It also features easy-to-do, low-cost and no-cost fi xes that lessen the risk of trip hazards and increase the safety of high-use areas like the bathroom, kitchen and stairway. In addition, AARP also off er videos and a HomeFit AR app (available for iPhone and iPad) that can scan a room and suggest improvements to help turn your house into a “lifelong home,” free from safety and mobility risks. Visit AARP.org/HomeFit to order or download a free copy of this guide, or to watch their videos. You don’t need to be an AARP member to access this content. If you’d like more hands-on help, you could also hire an occupational or physical therapist that works with older adults. He or she can come in, evaluate your home and recommend aging-inplace solutions. And if you get a referral from your doctor, Medicare will usually cover a home walk-through. Send your questions or comments to questions@savvysenior.org, or to Savvy Senior, P.O. Box 5443, Norman, OK 73070. nior ior

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