Oklahoma Silver-Haired Legislature to Meet Oct. 26-27 at State Capitol

OKLAHOMA CAPITOL -- The Oklahoma Silver-Haired Legislature will meet Oct. 26-27 at the State Capitol in Oklahoma City in an effort to learn how to advocate more effectively on behalf of older Oklahomans.
Formed in 1981, the organization provides for direct citizen input in developing proposed legislation addressing issues of concern to older persons. The volunteer-advocacy organization’s mission is to give a voice to older Oklahomans through education and by learning the legislative process.

Rowena Scott-Johnson, president of the Oklahoma Silver Haired Legislature Alumni Association, the oversight body for the OSHL, describes this year’s training as basic training in the legislative process and in the structure of the aging network.

Frosty Troy, editor of The Oklahoma Observer, will speak to the group during its banquet on Oct. 26. Oklahoma Sen. Daisy Lawler of Comanche will open the training conference as keynote speaker. Her speech will focus on how OSHL advocates can be most effective in working with legislators. The agenda includes panel presentations from the Oklahoma Department of Human Services’ Aging Services Division staff on programs administered by the division.

“The OSHL is modeled after the Oklahoma Legislature,” Scott-Johnson said. “All even number years are used for training, but in the odd numbered years, we hold a legislative session during which we follow the legislative process from the introduction of bills to final consideration and passage.”

At the conclusion of the legislative session, the top five measures are then sent on to members in the state legislature for consideration in that process. The OSHL has had significant success in achieving enactment into state law. Measures that have come out of this process include legislation on end-of-life issues such as living wills, advance directives and do-not-resuscitate consent forms.

Others include the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Act, the Spousal Impoverishment Act and an Alzheimer’s Disclosure Bill. Additional measures include legislation calling for assistance with medications for low-income elderly and the establishment of the Oklahoma Public Guardianship Act.

###