NCSTHL Update
Issues committees work to finalize legislative proposals
The NC Senior Tar Heel Legislature (NCSTHL) operates within a two-year
legislative cycle, mirroring the work of the NC General Assembly (NCGA).
Currently, its an even-numbered year and NCSTHL members’ goal is to
recommend to the NCGA enactment of legislative measures that will ensure the
quality of life available to NC’s older adults across the state when it convenes in
the 2023 long session.
For NCSTHL members, the winter and spring were spent studying the most
pressing challenges facing older adults, considering information and data
from the state’s aging experts and deliberating impacts and solutions. In June
and July, NCSTHL members submitted their ideas for legislation that could
serve to enhance the lives of older adults. The NCSTHL’s Resolutions Standing
Committee has received the ideas and is working to sort them into one of the six
categories of the issues committees, which are tasked with the important work of
distilling the ideas from the NCSTHL into proposals that protect and empower
NC seniors. Between now and October, each issues committee wUl convene to
discuss, debate, and distill the ideas assigned to them into three proposals, for a
total of 18 possible proposals. Then each member of the NCSTHL will deliberate
the merits and impact of the proposals. At the October General Session, the
NCSTHL will vote as a body to approve the top three to five proposals as its
legislative priorities for consideration by the NCGA in 2023.
• Rosalyn Pettyford (Durham County) is the chair of the Crime/Safety/
Security Issues Committee, which focuses on physical, emotional and
financial threats faced by older adults.
• Former Speaker Rev. Dwight Cartner (Davidson County) is the chair of the
Enrichment Opportunities Issues Committee, which addresses gaps faced
by older adults who seek local enrichment activities such as education,
exercise, well-being and socialization outlets.
• Kaye White (Dare County) chairs the General Legislation Issues Commit
tee, which pinpoints issues that do not fall into the other issues committee
categories, but which are critically important. Topics might include livable
communities, work skills development, financial education, veterans and
technology, among others.
• Currently under selection, the chair of the Health Issues Committee guides
the team to identify challenges faced by older adults with respect to all as
pects of healthcare, ranging from Medicaid expansion to the need for doc
tors and nurses specializing in geriatric fields, and programs that advance
coverage for social determinants of health, such as Home and Community-
Based Block Grant services, among others.
• Bill Lamb (Wake County) chairs the Long-Term Care Issues Committee,
which addresses shortcomings in both the institutional and private setting
of long-term care, including resident-to-staff ratios in assisted living and
skilled nursing facilities and upholding residents’ rights.
• Gayla Woody (Gaston County) is assigned to chair the Service Access
Issues Committee, which detects obstacles that stand in the way of older
adults who need to access supportive services such as broadband, tele
health and addressing the digital divide.
NCSTHL Speaker Norma Duncan (Mitchell County) shared: “We are facing
many challenges as we strive to meet the needs and demands of a rapidly
growing aging population. North Carolina ranks 9th in the nation of age 60+
population and, unfortunately, we have gaps in our safety nets. There are 11,000
older adults currently on waiting lists for home-based services that would
help them remain active, independent and healthy. The chairs of our issues
committees are strong advocates and eager to establish legislative priorities that
ensure North Carolina’s older adults can age with dignity and respect.”
The North Carolina Senior Tar Heel Legislature was created as a nonpartisan,
unicameral body by the North Carolina General Assembly with the passage of
Senate Bill 479 in July 1993. Its purpose is to identify the most pressing issues
facing older adults across the state and propose new legislation that will improve
their quality of life. The NCSTHL is comprised of delegates and alternates repre
senting each of North Carolina’s 100 counties, supported by the area agencies on
aging serving the state’s 16 service areas. For more information about NCSTHL,
visitncseniortarheellegislature.org.
The NCSTHL delegate for Carteret County is Victor Heinrich, who can be
reached at veheinrichl@gmail.com, and the alternate delegate is Amy Lock, PhD,
reachable at amy@amylock.com. Mr. Heinrich and Dr. Lock are on the Health
Issues Committee.
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September 2022 I The Shoreline 9