Seniors

Looking out for the interests of my elderly constituents throughout the 44th district has always been a top priority of mine. In fact, my elderly parents recently moved in to live with me, my wife, and daughter in our home in Hollin Hills. I am also a current Board Member of Mount Vernon at Home, which is a nonprofit based in our community which supports our older neighbors to have lifetime independence and allow them to age in place.

During the 2016 session, I was the patron of HB620, which would have allowed financial institutions to hold suspicious transactions for a period of time until it could verify the validity. This didn’t pass, but in the following session in 2017 I was one of four delegates, two from each party, who sponsored the bipartisan adult exploitation HB1945 that is now the law.

HB 1945 broadened the definition of adult exploitation to include the unauthorized, improper or fraudulent use of an adult 60 years of age or older, or 18 years of age or older who is incapacitated, or his funds, property, benefits or other assets for the benefit of another, including a caregiver or person serving in a fiduciary capacity, or that deprives the adult of his rightful use or access to such funds, etc. Protecting senior citizens and all Virginians from fraud is an issue I take very seriously.

During the 2017 session, I sponsored HB 2257, which aimed to create eligibility for Virginians aged 65 and older on the date of an election to vote absentee. Mobility and health issues, lack of transportation, and inclement weather can cause significant barriers for older Virginians to get to their polling places to exercise their right to vote. While this bill did not go through, in the next session, I will support no excuse absentee voting which will remove eligibility requirements and allow any Virginia voter to vote absentee.