SOSS March Newsletter
UPDATE:
Secure Our Seniors’ Safety (SOSS) had its own version of March Madness© – State lawmakers began introducing a suite of bills on SOSS behalf.
- Senator Nathan Johnson, on March 8th, introduced SB 1133. Representative Jared Patterson filed the companion bill HB 3144. If passed, the new laws create a voluntary certification program for senior living establishments. Homes must meet minimum security standards to be certified. Consumers can ask to see the certification or look for a residence that does meet the security standards.
- Representative Julie Johnson filed HB 3095. If it becomes law, this will hold senior living businesses accountable and transparent or be liable for dishonest and negligent behavior. If residents, families, and police only knew what was going on, some of the 18-plus murders might have been prevented. Another measure will forbid the use of arbitration clauses in lease agreements.
- Senator Johnson presented SB 1132. Representative John Turner filed the companion bill HB 3123. The bills would enforce cash for gold shops and pawn shops to follow existing regulations. There will be more surprise inspection for required records of seller and inventory. If they fail these inspections, they may lose the right to do business in Texas. If only police had those records earlier, the crimes might have been solved sooner.
- In February, Representative Jared Patterson introduced HB 723, and Senator Angela Paxton filed the companion bill SB 864. These are the “I do not want to find out of Facebook my loved one was murdered” bills. This happened to SOSS Board Member Cheryl Pangburn. A high school friend said in a Facebook message, they had something in common. The same man murdered their mothers. The bill will require a Medical Examiner to use reasonable measures to notify the next of kin when a cause of death is changed.
- On Wednesday, March 10th, SOSS hosted a press conference announcing support of all these bills. Twenty-five family members stood together publicly for the first time, sharing their tragic stories and expressing determination and hope in protecting seniors in the future.
- SOSS Board President Shannon Gleason Dion and Board Member Cheryl Pangburn testified before the House Public Health Committee on March 17th to support HB 723. The committee unanimously approved it on March 24th. We expect it to pass in the House and the companion bill SB 864 considered and passed in the Senate.
Next steps:
Bills will be assigned to committees. SOSS Board Members and other victim families look forward to testifying on behalf of these measures. The goal is simple, current and future generations should be safer than our families.
After months of waiting, we are ready to ask for your help. In the following weeks, we will tell you whom to contact and ask for their support of this suite of bills. As bills are assigned to committees, we will share the names of committee members.
If you live in their district, a letter, email or phone call asking for support will help push them through committee where the hurdle is highest. Committees are where bills go to die without support and attention.
Once the bills make it to Senate and House floors for votes, we will need to contact legislators statewide asking for support.
And all of this will happen before May 31, 2021 when the session ends. The next session will convene January 2023.
We urge you to help make sure another senior does not go unprotected.
Let’s get this done now!
