Assembly Aging and Long-Term Care Committee advances five bills on immigrant seniors, assisted‑living transparency, senior meals and emergency response

SACRAMENTO — The California State Assembly Committee on Aging and Long-Term Care on April 22 voted to advance five measures addressing care and services for older adults and people with disabilities, including a study panel on undocumented seniors, staffing transparency for residential care facilities for the elderly (RCFEs), preservation of pandemic-era “to‑go” senior meals, and two bills to strengthen emergency planning and shelter access for long‑term care populations.

The bills passed out of committee will be considered next by other panels that include Human Services, Appropriations or Emergency Management, depending on the measure. Sponsors and advocates said the bills seek to fill gaps in information, access and planning for vulnerable older Californians; providers and some small operators cautioned against added burdens on operators.

AB 450: Task force to study needs of undocumented Californians 55 and older

Assemblymember Chris Carrillo introduced AB 450 to create a Department of Aging task force to develop policy recommendations on housing, health care access, affordability and caregiving for undocumented adults age 55 and older. Carrillo and multiple witnesses said the measure is a fact‑finding step that would feed recommendations into the 2028 Master Plan for Aging.

“AB 450 would establish a task force with the Department of Aging to develop policy recommendations on how we can better support undocumented adults who are 55 years or older,” the bill’s sponsor said in committee testimony.

Cynthia Gomez, deputy director of state policy and advocacy for the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA), told the committee nearly 300,000 undocumented Californians are age 55 or older and described language, digital access and benefits‑eligibility gaps that can leave older immigrants vulnerable. Arturo Sierra Morales, a CHIRLA member who testified through a translator, said he had worked in California construction for about 35 years and paid taxes…